Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that requires rapid, multidisciplinary coordination to treat and manage.
Most infections are easy to treat when caught early and properly managed. However, a person’s immune system can sometimes overreact, or fail to control infection. This impaired immune response, known as sepsis, can cause widespread inflammation, tissue and vascular damage, organ failure, and even death. Sepsis is the leading cause of hospitalization in the United States, sending about 1.7 million adults and 70,000 children to the hospital each year, and resulting in over 350,000 deaths annually.
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Hallie Prescott, M.D., M.Sc., associate professor of internal medicine at Michigan Medicine, works to improve sepsis identification, management, and outcomes. As physician lead of the Michigan-based Hospital Medicine Safety Sepsis Initiative and an advisor to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), she examines sepsis care in hospitals across the U.S. She also actively engages with local, state, national, and international stakeholders to inform sepsis care guidelines and policy. In recognition of her many contributions and impacts, Prescott was named a 2025 recipient of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy & Innovation’s Policy Impact Award.