Rory Staunton
By Irish Echo Staff
Rory’s Regulations, named after Rory Staunton, the 12-year-old Queens, New York boy who tragically died of sepsis in 2012, are having a profound effect around the United States.
The Journal of the American Medical Association has released the findings of a sepsis study conducted by the Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
According to a release from the Rory Staunton Foundation, the findings show that Rory's Regulations, protocols which are applied across the board in New York State medical facilities, are increasing survival rates for children with sepsis by a “staggering 40%.”
“We cannot overstate the importance of this study. Not only are we profoundly grateful that so many young lives have been saved by our regulations, but the findings will also make it very hard for other states to refuse the adoption of these simple protocols that have been proven to save so many lives,” said a statement from the foundation which is campaigning to have Rory’s Regulations mandated in every state by 2020.
Rory Staunton died after sepsis was diagnosed only at a point when treatment had no effect.
He had contracted the infection from a seemingly innocuous cut sustained in his school gym. Four days later, Rory was dead as a result of septic shock.
This despite the fact that he was admitted to a hospital in a city that boasts the very highest level of medical treatment anywhere in the world.
Sepsis has been described as the leading cause of death of people admitted to hospital.
It results from the body’s immune system reacting to infection to such a high degree that the result is toxic shock.
Rory’s parents, Orlaith from County Louth and Ciaran from County Mayo, set about making sure that their son’s fate would not befall others. And so, the Rory Staunton Foundation was born, its aim to see the creation and codifying of a set of protocols designed to ensure that sepsis was diagnosed rapidly so that proper life-saving treatment could be applied in time.
Early in 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all hospitals in New York State would be required to adopt evidence-based protocols, known as “Rory’s Regulations” for the early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. The regulations took effect the following year.
More on Rory’s Regulations and how to donate to the campaign at www.rorystauntonfoundationforsepsis.org.
