OSF HealthCare Newsroom

Early detection, rapid treatment key to fighting sepsis

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:33:48 -0500

Sepsis remains one of the nation's most persistent health challenges, affecting an estimated 1.7 million Americans annually and contributing to hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it’s the third-leading cause of deaths in U.S. hospitals.

Most recently, sepsis was considered a contributing factor to the death of NASCAR legend Kyle Busch, who died at age 41. According to Leon Yeh, MD, an OSF HealthCare leader involved in sepsis prevention efforts, Busch had symptoms of sepsis, but hospital treatment was delayed too long.

Dr. Yeh stresses one of the most important lessons clinicians have learned is that treatment cannot wait for complete answers.

"I think it took some time for our people to understand that you didn't need to know exactly where the sepsis was coming from before you treated it," says Dr. Yeh. "The standard now is to administer broad-spectrum antibiotics. You cast a wide net for anything that could be causing this condition, and then you sort it out later."

Early intervention saves lives

Dr. Yeh explains that rapid intervention is critical because delays can have deadly consequences.

"The early literature on sepsis showed that with each hour of delay in antibiotics, there was a measurable increased mortality. That's why it's so important to get treatment early."

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the body's dysregulated response to an infection. While pneumonia and urinary tract infections account for most cases, virtually any infection can trigger the condition, including minor cuts and scrapes that are not cleaned well.

Hospitals have increasingly focused on identifying those most at risk and responding more quickly. Advanced surveillance tools monitor patient vital signs and laboratory results, generating alerts when warning signs appear. However, technology alone is not enough.

Success depends on helping nurses and physicians move quickly once an alert is triggered.

OSF has been on a journey to address the sepsis challenge. In 2018, OSF Advanced Analytics division developed a pioneering predictive model, which outperformed other models at the time, that helped establish a foundation for sepsis detection efforts across the organization. In 2024, OSF built on that work when leaders implemented Epic’s Sepsis 2.0 model within the health system’s electronic health record. The system leverages ongoing data updates and evaluates more than 80 clinical variables from millions of patients to generate risk estimates every 20 minutes, supporting timely clinical decision-making. Still, Dr. Yeh notes that no predictive model alone is 100% accurate at detecting sepsis.

Reducing hospital-acquired infections is key

Nearly 85% of people with sepsis arrive at the emergency department with the life-threatening condition. The rest develop sepsis while being treated in the hospital. OSF, along with other health systems, is also working to reduce hospital-acquired infections that can lead to sepsis. Efforts have focused on minimizing the use of invasive devices whenever possible.

"We've made great strides in that over the past few years to help reduce hospital-acquired infections, either by central lines or urinary catheters, for instance," Dr. Yeh says. "There are many interventions that we've put in place, from education toward bundles and best practices, both for providers and nurses."

One particularly effective strategy, the physician noted, is avoiding unnecessary procedures altogether.

"I think one intervention that's really notable is that we recognize it's hard to get an infection from lines that you don't place. If we can prevent placing a central line and prevent placing Foley [urinary] catheters, then those are infections that we naturally won't get."

Dr. Yeh says OSF also has implemented safeguards within its order for Foley catheters that require valid justification and include an auto discontinue after 48 hours that can only be overridden with proper medical necessity documentation.

Something else to consider – people who are older with chronic conditions such as diabetes, or are immunocompromised, Dr. Yeh says, are more susceptible to infections and need to pay more attention when symptoms develop.

“If you get a cut or scrape, monitor those things. Certainly, good local wound care and maybe an urgent care visit would be smart … seeing your doctor. But, if things start to get out of control, meaning if you develop systemic symptoms where you feel ill or you’re running a fever, that’s not normal. That means there’s spreading going on so that’s when you really need to pay more attention,” he recommends.

Post-sepsis syndrome can occur

For people who survive sepsis, recovery can continue long after discharge. There is a condition known as post-sepsis syndrome, which can affect individuals physically, mentally and psychologically.

“And it can be really hard to get back to where you were pre-illness,” according to Dr. Yeh. "Things like chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pains, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress syndrome, as well as brain fog and trouble concentrating – those can all be symptoms that linger well after the hospitalization.”

The length of time symptoms can persist depends on a patient's age, overall health before sepsis and severity of illness.

While some people experience prolonged recovery, Dr. Yeh emphasizes that most survivors eventually regain their previous level of function. In the future, Dr. Yeh sees a post-sepsis initiative at OSF, but for now the focus includes reducing hospital infections beyond current rates, which have been reduced in the past five years.

The overarching message for both clinicians and patients is to recognize symptoms early and act quickly. In the fight against sepsis, speed remains one of the most effective treatments available.

Video clips with Dr. Leon Yeh

Skin care is not skin deep

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0500

As a longtime health care provider, Amber Oberheim, APRN, always thought she was taking good care of her skin. She’s counseled patients on the topic and even spoke about it at a community forum. But a recent trip to the spa reminded her of what’s true for all our health care: there’s room to do better.

“The worker asked what I used to wash my face. I said I use a bar of antibacterial Dial soap. She did not like that response,” Oberheim chuckles. “So I did a little bit of research. I found that product is extremely drying [for the skin].”

Now, Oberheim, a family nurse practitioner at OSF HealthCare, is reminding you about what happens to aging skin, what you can do to maintain your skin and the serious consequences if you don’t.

Aging skin

Oberheim says it’s natural for your skin to dry and thin with age.

“It tends to lose collagen and elastin. Some of the oil and sweat glands that provide natural moisture, especially on our face, start to decline,” she says. “That leads to more lines and wrinkles.” Sagging skin is also possible.

Some of the changes may be genetic (in other words, passed down from family). But Oberheim says sun exposure plays a big role. If you have a long career working outside, for example, your skin may change faster. Smoking can also accelerate skin breakdown.

Consequences

Some people may see skin care as purely cosmetic. If I’m not a model or television news anchor, I’ll just do the bare minimum.

That’s not the right approach, Oberheim says. Poor skin care, especially in older adults, can lead to persistent bruises and skin tears leading to wounds.

“Sometimes it doesn’t take much. I’ll see patients who have small dogs that jump on them. Even just the clawing from the dog will put a tear in the skin because the skin is so thin and fragile,” Oberheim recalls. “When that happens, we have to make sure to keep the skin clean and dry. If we end up with an infection, that can lead to cellulitis. Cellulitis can lead to other things, including sepsis [a possibly deadly condition where your body responds improperly to an infection]. So we’d need to take precautions and fix the infection with maybe some antibiotics.”

The bottom line, Oberheim says, is if your skin problem isn’t responding to at-home treatment after a few days, see your primary care provider or a dermatologist.

Other conditions

Other skin conditions to be aware of:

Eczema (also called atopic dermatitis): This causes dry, itchy scaly skin patches. Experts don’t know exactly what causes it. But Oberheim says allergies, asthma and even stress can play a role, and it’s often worse in the winter. She says eczema can affect all ages and appear anywhere on your body.
Rosacea: This causes redness, pimples, broken blood vessels and, in severe cases, a misshapen nose. It most often affects the face and eyes.
Age spots (also called liver spots): Oberheim says these look like “big freckles.” They’re often flat and dark-colored. They’re associated with sun exposure, and so they’re often seen on the head and face.

“They’re usually not super problematic, but they’re not cosmetically appealing,” Oberheim says.
Psoriasis: This causes inflamed, red raised areas of skin that can itch and be painful. This is often seen on the scalp, elbows, knees and lower back.
Poison ivy and oak: Oberheim says she sees these issues often in her clinic. When someone rubs up against the plant or an object that’s touched the plant, they can get a red, bumpy itchy rash with fluid-filled blisters.

Prevention

So, what should your daily skin care routine be? Should you be getting facials at the spa regularly? That’s probably not necessary, Oberheim says. But daily washing and moisturizing is. Look from certain things on skin care product labels: retinol (helps with skin firmness and reducing wrinkles), vitamin C (helps brighten age spots), hyaluronic acid (helps with moisturizing), niacinamide (helps reduce redness), collagen and peptides.

Other things to consider:

Wear sunscreen of 30 SPF [sun protection factor] or higher when outside, and reapply it every few hours.
Wear protective clothing like a wide brimmed hat, long sleeves and long pants when outside. Wash clothes right away when you get home. Also, know which plants are in your area to avoid the pesky ones.
Don’t smoke.
Drink plenty of water all the time, not just during outdoor activities.
Don’t bathe or shower in very hot water. This can dry the skin.
Try not to itch any skin lesion. You don’t want a wound to open and risk an infection.
Know your body. Watch for suspicious moles or lesions that might be a sign of skin cancer. Experts say you can remember the ABCDEs: if the mole is asymmetric, has an irregular border, has an odd color, has a big diameter or is evolving, see a provider.

Learn more

Read more about how to keep your skin healthy on the OSF HealthCare website.

Interview clips

Defend yourself against pneumonia

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 10:28:35 -0600

Pneumonia.

It’s a hard enough word to spell, let alone remember how to prevent and treat it. With respiratory illness season here, it’s time for a reminder about how to avoid this possibly deadly condition.

The basics

Fred Burke, MD, an emergency medicine physician who treats people at OSF HealthCare, says pneumonia is a lung infection caused by a virus or bacteria.

“The most common bacteria that causes it is strep pneumonia [in medical terms, streptococcus pneumoniae or pneumococcus]. The viruses that cause it are things like RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], flu [influenza] and COVID-19 [coronavirus],” Dr. Burke says.

In other words, you could get the flu, and it could progress to pneumonia. The phrase double pneumonia means it’s impacting both lungs. Dr. Burke says people with pneumonia could experience coughing, fever, chills and weakness.

“It can cause a consolidation in the lungs. That interferes with air movement,” Dr. Burke says. “You can also get fluid buildup and scarring in the lungs.” Consolidation refers to inflamed cells that form a mass.

Diagnosis and treatment

Dr. Burke says when someone comes to the emergency department with pneumonia symptoms, a health care provider could do a chest X-ray or CAT scan to confirm the diagnosis.

“If we find it’s from a viral infection, people have to ride it out. There’s no treatment for [the ailment itself]. But we can treat the symptoms. We can give Tylenol for fever or an inhaler for shortness of breath or wheezing,” Dr. Burke explains. “If it’s from a bacterial infection, we give antibiotic medication.”

The person could take antibiotics by mouth for one to two weeks. Or, if they are having trouble breathing, the medicine would be given through intravenous (IV) therapy. Either way, the goal is to stop the bacteria in the lungs from growing.

Another tactic is a bronchoscope, where a pulmonologist inserts a tube down your throat to break up mucus in your airways.

But Dr. Burke cautions: don’t let the guidance of some “ride it out” fool you. Pneumonia is a common cause of hospitalization and death worldwide.

“One complication is sepsis, when the infection spreads to the blood. That can cause organ failure,” Dr. Burke warns. “Pneumonia can also cause respiratory failure [when the lungs aren’t working properly]. Those people might require additional oxygen. Or if it serious enough, they might require intubation [a breathing tube down the throat] or be placed on life support.”

Is it contagious?

Yes, pneumonia can spread from person to person, Dr. Burke says. It’s often transmitted through respiratory droplets (coughing or sneezing on someone), but it can spread on surfaces as well. A child could touch a dirty doorknob then put their hands in their mouth, for example.

That’s why everyday hygiene is important. Wash your hands with soap and warm water thoroughly and often. Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue. Stay home and away from others if you’re sick. These are especially important for people at higher risk for pneumonia: people with a history of strokes or seizures, people suffering from substance abuse, people with a compromised immune system (those with HIV or a transplanted organ, for example), smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also outlines the guidelines for the pneumococcal vaccine. Talk to your primary care provider if you have questions about the shot.

“The vaccine comes from evidence-based medicine. Experts have done studies. It’s shown to be very effective in decreasing the severity of pneumonia,” Dr. Burke explains. “I would recommend people take the vaccine.”

Interview clips

‘Sepsis does not discriminate’

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 02:00:00 -0500

On May 8, 2012, Tony Galbo knew the word “sepsis” was one to make your ears perk up.

He was at a Champaign, Illinois, hospital where his five-year-old daughter Gabby was fighting for her life with what was later confirmed to be Rocky Mountain spotted fever as the result of a tick bite.

Gabby died of sepsis, a condition where your body responds improperly to an infection, three days later. The heartbreak led Tony and his family to become intimately familiar with sepsis. They’re now advocates for sepsis awareness, both ensuring health care providers are following best practices and patients are speaking up.

“I remember slamming every object around me,” in the days following Gabby’s death, Tony Galbo recalls. “I said ‘there’s gotta be a law to protect patients, especially children.’,”

Sepsis and septic shock

Many of the things the Galbo family advocates for to this day are already in place at OSF HealthCare.

Kurt Bloomstrand, MD, is chair of emergency services at OSF HealthCare Heart of Mary Medical Center in Urbana, Illinois. He says aside from following established, rigid protocol, OSF Heart of Mary is going the extra mile for sepsis prevention in a couple of ways. One, the hospital is leading the OSF Ministry in continuing sepsis screening and alerts for people after they are admitted (not just in the emergency department). And two, the facility is among the top 10% of hospitals in the country in following sepsis protocol as measured by the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Those CMS core measures include giving antibiotics and fluids and rechecking a person’s vital signs in a timely manner.

“We’re trying to identify a set of signs called the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS,” Dr. Bloomstrand says. “Those include a fever, a fast heart rate, fast breathing and elevated or low white blood cell count. If someone has any two of those with a source of infection, we consider them possibly septic. We want to establish treatment for them very quickly.”

Treatment includes antibiotic medication or intravenous fluids along with continued testing to pinpoint the problem.

“We take this extremely seriously because we know time is tissue. The sooner we get the treatment, the better the outcome.” Dr. Bloomstrand adds. “Any person who comes into one of our emergency departments, no matter the cause, will be screened for sepsis right from the start. When we get your vital signs, that’s screening for sepsis. If you flag positive, there are alerts that go out to our staff. Then it walks us through a very specific sepsis algorithm for treatment.”

What you can do

Dr. Bloomstrand says young kids, older adults and people with serious health conditions like heart disease and diabetes are at a higher risk for sepsis. Your best bet to prevent sepsis is to practice healthy habits and prevent infection in the first place.

Wash your hands frequently, especially after touching high-germ areas in public like a doorknob.
Avoid touching your face.
Sneeze and cough into your elbow or a tissue.
Stay home when you’re sick.
Treat wounds and bug bites properly, quickly and under guidance from a health care provider. Dr. Bloomstrand notes that pets can also harbor ticks that can cause serious illness.

Dr. Bloomstrand adds that hospital staff are empowered to speak up if they spot a possible sepsis case. But you can also speak up on behalf of yourself or a loved one about what sepsis surveillance is being done.

“It’s appropriate to make sure you are asking these questions just to make sure you’re keeping it at the front of the care provider’s mind,” Dr. Bloomstrand says.

“If we don’t catch sepsis soon enough, it can result in organ dysfunction,” he adds. “There may be long-term complications with their kidneys, such as needing dialysis. If their lungs fail, there may be long-term respiratory issues. There may be brain issues, so they have mental status changes long-term.”

Gabby’s Law

On August 18, 2016, then-Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner came to Presence Covenant Medical Center (now OSF Heart of Mary) to sign Gabby’s Law.

“Senate Bill 2403 requires hospitals to adopt evidence-based protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients with sepsis, severe sepsis or septic shock that are based on generally accepted standards of care,” the Governor’s office said at the time. “It requires the protocols contain certain components, including those specific to identifying and treating adults and children.”

Tony Galbo recalls many meetings with lawmakers, health care groups and other stakeholders to get the plan the support it needed. And that wasn’t the end. He’s testified before lawmakers in other states and in Washington, D.C., and done countless interviews.

“Sepsis does not discriminate. It does not care about age,” Galbo says.

Interview clips - Tony Galbo

Interview clips - Dr. Kurt Bloomstrand

B-roll

OSF HealthCare research contributes to FDA approval of AI sepsis tool

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 10:44:53 -0500

Sepsis is a critical health issue worldwide, but the advancements in artificial intelligence are starting to offer a better path forward for early diagnosis and treatment.

OSF HealthCare Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois was one of 10 hospitals taking part in clinical trials that led to the first-ever Federal Food and Drug Administration authorization to market an AI diagnostic tool for sepsis. Chicago-based company Prenosis, which spun out of the University of Illinois in Urbana Campaign (UIUC), created The Sepsis ImmunoScore^TM.

OSF Saint Francis hospitalist Anwaruddin Syed, MD, began working with researchers at UIUC while in residency at a hospital in Champaign. He took that experience to OSF Saint Francis where he was the lead investigator, continuing research in the Prenosis clinical trial. As a hospitalist - a doctor who provides care for patients at a hospital - he wanted to help solve the challenge of a serious and often deadly complication.

“In the US alone, there’s an estimate of 1.7 million American adults who develop sepsis every year out of which 350,000 people die or go into hospice. The numbers are eye opening.” (:19)

Dr. Syed explains sepsis happens when the body tries to fight an infection.

“When you have a really bad infection and your immune system is compromised by that infection, then the infection takes over. That’s why it’s important to identify that infection early on, before that infection can take you over.” (:19)

OSF contributed to the pool of 100,000 blood samples and de-identified patient data to help train algorithms to identify patient vital statistics, such as heart rate and oxygen levels, most associated with developing sepsis. It looks at biomarkers – biological molecules found in blood, tissues and other bodily fluids that lead to disease. The ImmunoScore is based on a total of 22 factors to identify risk, which it then put into one of four categories.

The risk score can be integrated with a patient’s electronic health record. Care team members can see what factors impacted the patient’s risk score. Dr. Syed says it can be an add-on to the protocols and information hospitals already use to help better identify patients at risk and for managing those with a confirmed sepsis diagnosis. In other words, it’s one more tool to help physicians.

According to a 2022 study published in Nature Medicine, in severe cases, the then-UIUC AI model detected sepsis an average of six hours earlier than traditional methods. Dr. Syed says Prenosis will conduct additional studies to demonstrate the tool’s accuracy and impact on clinical decision-making.

In the meantime, Dr. Syed is excited OSF has participated in such important research.

“It honestly feels amazing, knowing that our work and the trust and contributions from our patients here at OSF played a role in developing this first-ever FDA sepsis AI tool. It’s really rewarding. It’s a game-changer in patient care and I’m proud to have been a part of it.”

Other companies have developed sepsis diagnostic tools, but Prenosis wanted the FDA approval before marketing its software. The company worked for 18 months to receive the go-ahead to market and sell The ImmunoScore under a process in which the FDA reviews and regulates artificial intelligence/machine learning software as if it is a medical device.

Dr. Anwaruddin Syed

B-roll of sepsis patients, treatment

Don't roll this stone

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 09:12:23 -0500

A veteran urologist, Uwais Zaid, MD, has heard the comparisons.

Pain from a kidney stone is like giving birth.

“It’s true,” says the man who provides care at OSF HealthCare in Alton, Illinois.

“It’s horrible. They just can’t get comfortable. They’re writhing around in pain,” Dr. Zaid says of people suffering from a calcification-turned-blockage in the urinary tract.

“When the kidney gets obstructed, everything gets swollen upstream. That causes everything to get stretched out,” Dr. Zaid explains. “And it hurts a lot. Your body responds with severe pain in the flank area. It’s a sharp, stabbing pain.”

Other signs: you suddenly start feeling an urgency to urinate or your urine is anything but clear or yellow.

All those unpleasant symptoms are why prevention of kidney stones is key. It starts with what you put in your body.

Drink plenty of water, Dr. Zaid says. Doctors even recognize a “kidney stone belt” in the southern United States where people deal with sweltering weather and dehydration.

Avoid excess salt and sugar in your diet. That means cut back on soda and sweet tea. Too much meat, nuts and leafy vegetables can also cause problems.

“Other risk factors include a family history of kidney stones. Chronic diarrhea can cause dehydration and a loss of electrolytes,” Dr. Zaid says.

For small kidney stones – less than five millimeters across, or about the size of an eraser on the end of a pencil – a provider may see if the stones can pass out of your body through the urethra on their own. Medication can help with that.

But for trickier stones, there are several ways doctors can intervene. Dr. Zaid says providers can blast sound waves at the kidney stone from outside the body to break the stone apart. A doctor can send a camera through the urinary system, find the stone, use a laser to fragment it and remove the pieces. For larger stones – two to four centimeters – surgery involves an incision through your back to reach the stone, break it apart and remove it.

If you have symptoms of a kidney stone, don’t try to tough it out. Your symptoms may subside, but there may still be issues that could turn serious. Instead, see a doctor right away. They will perform a CT scan or ultrasound to find the cause of the pain, then develop a treatment plan.

“If the kidney remains obstructed for several weeks, that can lead to kidney damage,” Dr. Zaid warns. “If the kidney stone causes urine to get infected upstream, that can lead to sepsis, which is a life-threatening infection.”

Learn more about kidney stones on the OSF HealthCare health library and the OSF HealthCare blog.