West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital (WCCH) has been recognized as the first-place winner of the 2025 Safety Star Award by the Louisiana Hospital Association (LHA) Trust Funds. This prestigious award recognizes healthcare facilities that have made significant strides in patient or organizational safety innovation.
Through its project, From Improvement to Sustainability: Enhancing Sepsis Bundle Compliance Through Targeted Education and Improved Documentation, WCCH strengthened sepsis care in the Emergency Department by improving SEP-1 sepsis bundle compliance.
Using a structured Plan-Do-Study-Act approach, the team implemented standardized workflows, enhanced EMR tools, introduced targeted staff education and integrated real-time monitoring to ensure timely, accurate documentation of all SEP-1 bundle elements. Interventions included EMR hard stops to support early sepsis recognition, updated decision-tree templates, improved communication tools and ongoing coaching for both clinical and support staff.
“We are honored to receive the 2025 Safety Star Award,” said Janie Frugé, CEO of WCCH. “This recognition reflects the dedication and collaboration of our entire team, whose hard work has strengthened patient safety, improved early sepsis detection and ensured every patient receives timely, evidence-based care.”
As a result of these efforts, WCCH elevated SEP-1 compliance, surpassing the national benchmark and established a sustainable system that strengthens patient safety, improves early sepsis detection and reduces preventable harm. This project not only improved quality metrics but also fostered better clinical communication, enhanced teamwork and created reliable, repeatable processes that ensure every sepsis patient receives timely, evidence-based care.
Building on this success, WCCH plans to continue advancing patient safety initiatives and evidence-based practices across all departments.
