By Bill Parry
U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) announced plans to introduce legislation named after a Sunnyside schoolboy who died two years ago. Rory Staunton was just 12 years old when a scrape became infected and caused his death from sepsis after doctors failed to diagnose it in time.
According to the Mayo Clinic, sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection that occurs when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. This inflammation can set off a cascade of changes that can damage multiple organ systems, causing them to fail, killing over 250,000 Americans each year.
“Even one death from sepsis is one death too many, and the time is now for the federal government to take a comprehensive and concerted approach to preventing and treating sepsis nationwide,” Crowley said. “It is my hope that between this legislation and a congressional caucus focused on elevating the issue of sepsis, we can start to make significant headway in treating and preventing this terrible condition.”
The Rory Staunton CARE for Sepsis Act would direct the federal government to increase public outreach to fight sepsis, a leading cause of death in the United States, striking 750,000 people every year. The bill will focus on increasing interagency coordination, raising national attention through public awareness efforts, expanding research and development to better treat sepsis, and improving education for medical professionals to increase early intervention.
Rory Staunton, became seriously ill in March 2012 when he fell in a school gym and cut his arm while playing basketball. When the cut turned into pain in the leg and vomiting, his parents, Ciaran and Orlaith, took their son to their pediatrician, who recommended Rory go to NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan for rehydration.
The hospital rehydrated Rory and released him, but blood tests were not seen by the doctor and not complete until after his release. His condition worsened and his pediatrician sent him back to the hospital, where he was put in intensive care. Doctors tried to revive Rory three times before he died April 1.
Rory’s uncle, Niall O’Dowd, in an open letter to President Obama wrote, “Sepsis kills more Americans than AIDS, prostate cancer and breast cancer combined and that it contributes to one in every three deaths in U.S. hospitals costing the U.S. economy $20 billion per year.”
Crowley announced that he will be forming a new congressional caucus to bring together members of Congress, families, and advocates to exchange ideas and address policy concerns. He announced these actions while delivering the opening remarks at the Sepsis: Defeating the Killer national forum, hosted Sept. 17 by the Rory Staunton Foundation in Washington.
“This legislation will go a long way toward helping save lives, and I know Rory would be proud,” Ciaran Staunton said.
Crowley was among the 1,000 mourners who attended Rory’s funeral in April 2012 at Woodside’s St. Mary’s Winfield Church.
“Rory Staunton’s desire to help make the world a better place, even at such a young age, was inspiring, and with these new congressional efforts, we can help do the same in his honor,” Crowley said. “As much as I’m looking forward to working with all of you on this important cause, I’m even more looking forward to the last national forum on sepsis, when we’ve put a stop to this killer once and for all.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
