Sepsis Alliance Summit 2026
Includes a Live Web Event on 09/16/2026 at 7:00 AM (PDT)
Description:
The Sepsis Alliance Summit returns this September for its 7th year, bringing together thousands of healthcare professionals for a free, dynamic, virtual two‑day event. This year’s program features forward‑looking presentations from clinicians, researchers, innovators, patient advocates, and national leaders who are shaping the future of sepsis care.
Healthcare professionals can earn free AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ or RN CE credits through engaging, practice-focused sessions that explore the latest science, technologies, and system‑level strategies driving improvement in sepsis outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this event, the learner should be able to:
- Differentiate current sepsis definitions, diagnostic tools, and clinical criteria across diverse populations, including pediatric and hospital-acquired cases;
- Describe evidence-based strategies that strengthen early recognition, timely intervention, antimicrobial stewardship, and post-discharge monitoring to improve outcomes;
- List system-level drivers of quality improvement, such as SEP-1, CDI, HVBP, certification pathways, and collaborative models which can be developed into sustainable sepsis care programs;
- Evaluate innovative tools, including artificial intelligence, advanced diagnostics, and media-based education, to enhance personalized sepsis management;
- Apply trauma-informed approaches that address the experiences of co-survivors and foster healthcare environments that support patients, families, and providers.
Target Audience:
Nurses, advanced practice providers, physicians, emergency responders, pharmacists, medical technologists, respiratory therapists, physical/occupational therapists, infection prevention specialists, data/quality specialists, and more.
Agenda
September 16, 2026
| Time (ET) | Session Title | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00-10:10 | Opening Remarks and Erin Kay Flatley Spirit Award | Carl Flatley, DDS, MSD Founder, Sepsis Alliance |
| 10:10-10:50 | Keynote: "Blood Poison": Lessons from Sepsis History | Parsa Shahinpoor, MD Hospitalist and Quality Improvement Leader Northwest Permanente PC |
| 10:55-11:15 | Improving Sepsis Outcomes Through Timely Antibiotics and Fluids: A Pathway to Home | Hallie Prescott, MD, MSc Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Critical Care University of Michigan |
| 11:20-11:50 | Expanding the Sepsis Quality Toolbox with Implementation Science | Adam Thompson, MPH Practice Facilitator Plain Speak Consulting Inc. |
| 11:50-12:00 | Break | |
| 12:00-12:30 | Diasorin Sponsored Session: Clinical Integration of Fast Positive Blood Culture Diagnostics for Pediatric Bloodstream Infections | James J. Dunn, PhD, D(ABMM), MT(ASCP) Professor of Pathology & Immunology Baylor College of Medicine |
| 12:35-12:50 | Vantive Sponsored Session: Sepsis: Novel Blood Purification Technologies | Javier Neyra, MD, MSCS Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| 12:50-1:00 | Break | |
| 1:00-1:40 | Hospital Strategies to Improve Sepsis Outcomes: Recommendations from a Multisociety Consensus Panel | Chanu Rhee, MD, MPH Director of the Center for Sepsis Epidemiology and Prevention Studies (SEPSIS), Associate Professor of Population Medicine Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard Medical School |
| 1:45-2:15 | Info TBA | |
| 2:15-2:35 | Break | |
| 2:35-3:05 | Abionic Sponsored Session: Beyond Sterile SIRS: Tracking Pre-Clinical Infections using PSP to Close Diagnostic Gaps in Acute Care | Patrick Pestalozzi, MBA CEO Abionic Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Denis Ehrl, MBA Head of the Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery Klinikum Nürnberg |
| 3:10-3:25 | Flosonics Medical Sponsored Session: 2026 Surviving Sepsis Campaign Update: What's Changed at the Bedside | Jaclyn Bond, MSN-LM, MBA-HM, RN Former Director of Nursing |
| 3:25-3:40 | Break | |
| 3:40-4:10 | The Rules of the Game: How to Screen and Define Refractory Shock | Christa Schorr, DNP, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FCCM Clinical Nurse Scientist; Professor of Medicine Cooper University Hospital; Cooper Medical School of Rowan University |
| 4:15-4:45 | Project PIVOT: Learning from Patients to Improve Patient Safety, Diagnostic Quality, and Biases in Care | Sue Sheridan, MIM, MBA, DHL Founding Member/President and CEO Patients For Patient Safety US |
| 4:45-4:50 | Closing Remarks |
September 17, 2026
| Time (ET) | Session Title | Presenter |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00-10:15 | Opening Remarks: Sepsis Survivor Story | Maxine Tatlonghari |
| 10:20-10:50 | Keynote: Elevating Sepsis Care Together: A Joint Commission Perspective | Arjun Srinivasan, MD Deputy Chief Medical Officer The Joint Commission Enterprise |
| 10:55-11:25 | Vasoactive Therapy in Refractory Septic Shock: What’s New and What’s Next | Susan E. Smith, PharmD, BCCCP, FCCM, FCCP Associate Professor University of Georgia College of Pharmacy |
| 11:30-12:00 | Sepsis Diagnostics: Understanding Clinical Utility Through the Patient Perspective | Suz Schrandt, JD Founder and CEO ExPPect |
| 12:05-12:35 | Info TBA | |
| 12:35-1:00 | Break | |
| 1:00-1:15 | Spectral Medical Sponsored Session: Info TBA | |
| 1:20-1:35 | Sponsored Session | |
| 1:40-1:55 | Sponsored Session | |
| 2:00-2:15 | Sponsored Session | |
| 2:20-2:35 | Break | |
| 2:35-3:05 | How do we protect the gut with sepsis? | Craig Coopersmith, MD, FACS, MCCM Director, Emory Critical Care Center; Professor of Surgery Emory University School of Medicine |
| 3:10-3:40 | Immunomodulators in Sepsis: A New Frontier | Joanna C. Dionne, MD, MS, PhD, FRCPC Associate Professor of Medicine McMaster University |
| 3:45-4:15 | Diagnosis and Risk Stratification of Sepsis with Host-Microbe Metagenomics | Natasha Spottiswoode, MD, D.Phil Assistant Professor, Infectious Disease University of California San Francisco |
| 4:20-4:50 | Making Sepsis the Next Success Story in Global Health | Niranjan “Tex” Kissoon, MBBS, FRCP(C), MCCM, FACPE Professor, Department of Pediatrics Global Health, Institute of Global Health, University of British Columbia |
| 4:50-5:00 | Closing Remarks |