October 5, 2011. Goodnight, sweet prince.
Sepsis Team!
I was stuck in a hospital waiting room with my companion, bored out of my mind. An announcement blared over the hospital intercom, “Activate the Sepsis Team! Repeat, activate the Sepsis Team! Unit 28, stat!”
When a nurse walked by, I asked her what the announcement meant.
“Oh, I can’t go into details, patient confidentiality and all,” she replied.
I clarified, “No, not that person in particular, but the team itself. What does it mean, and what happens?”
She answered, “Well, a group of doctors and nurses specifically trained for sepsis are called to respond to a patient who is in a very bad way.”
I replied, “Sepsis Team sounds particularly impressive. Do they wear capes and matching uniforms?”
She looked at me like I was retarded and left the room without further comment.
My companion said, “You know it hurts when I laugh, right?”
