Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed legislation named for a 5-year-old Illinois girl that will require hospitals to be better prepared to treat patients with sepsis or septic shock.
Rauner signed Gabby's Law on Thursday morning at Presence Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, Ill. The legislation is named for Gabby Galbo of Monticello, who died in 2012 due to untreated sepsis. The measure received widespread support in the Illinois Legislature. Sepsis is a response to an infection that can lead to death. Gabby had an undetected tick bite that developed into sepsis.
The new law requires hospitals to adopt protocols for the early recognition and treatment of patients who have sepsis. It also requires that the protocols have certain components including those specific to treating children and adults.