END SEPSIS

Situation

END SEPSIS is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing public understanding of sepsis and advancing hospital protocols that support the early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis patients. Cloud Street provides ongoing strategic counsel and communications support to END SEPSIS across strategic planning, development, stakeholder engagement, and public awareness initiatives—including the maternal sepsis campaign outlined below.

Maternal sepsis remains a serious yet underrecognized threat to maternal health, contributing to preventable illness and death during pregnancy and postpartum. END SEPSIS engaged Cloud Street to help design and implement a comprehensive public education campaign aimed at closing knowledge gaps, empowering patients, and supporting providers in improving outcomes for mothers and babies.

Approach

Cloud Street partnered closely with END SEPSIS leadership to design a multi-channel, evidence-based campaign to educate prospective mothers and women’s health providers about the risks, warning signs, and prevention of maternal sepsis—while encouraging women to be informed, confident advocates for their care.

The campaign strategy began with clear audience segmentation and message development, followed by the production and deployment of integrated communications assets, including:

• A public service announcement (PSA)

• A robust social media and digital engagement campaign

• A media relations strategy centered on patient advocates, maternal sepsis survivors, and clinical experts

• Educational webinars for healthcare providers

The New York State Department of Health is a key collaborator on the initiative. The Department’s Office of Quality and Patient Safety is analyzing maternal sepsis cases statewide to identify risk factors and trends. These findings are being incorporated into campaign messaging and materials and are informing targeted dissemination strategies.

To support both campaign development and distribution, Cloud Street helped assemble a multi-sector coalition of state and national partners. The coalition includes nonprofits, professional societies and associations, hospital systems, and government agencies committed to improving maternal health outcomes. Members’ expertise in health policy, women’s healthcare, and patient advocacy is being leveraged to ensure the campaign is credible, accessible, and actionable. Coalition partners will also amplify campaign materials through their platforms and networks.

Impact to Date

• Development of a comprehensive, multi-channel maternal sepsis education campaign

• Strong cross-sector collaboration with state health authorities and national partners

• Pilot launch in New York State, with a strategic roadmap for national rollout