2Flo Ventures Names Sepsis Alliance as Charity Beneficiary of Annual Health Equity Investing Symposium

The Health Equity Investing Symposium, which brings together subject matter experts, investors, startups, and thought leaders to discuss the importance of investing in health equity, has selected Sepsis Alliance as the charity beneficiary for 2024.  

This event will be held on Thursday, September 12 from 8:45am – 7:30pm CDT at Fulton Labs in Chicago.  

Sepsis, which was often called “blood poisoning,” is a life-threatening emergency that happens when your body’s response to an infection damages vital organs and, often, causes death. 

In the United States, differences in health and mortality are influenced by both socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity.1 Sepsis disproportionally impacts communities of color and those with lower levels of education and income. For example, 

• Black and other Non-white populations have nearly twice the incidence of sepsis as white (1.89 times the risk for Black, and 1.9 times the risk for other Non-white populations).2 

• Black patients admitted to the emergency room are assigned to significantly lower priority status and experience significantly longer wait times (10.9 minutes longer on average) as compared to case-matched white patients.3 

• Adults below the poverty line have over three to four times the risk of dying of sepsis as compared to adults whose family income is at least five times the poverty line.4 

Sepsis Alliance works to raise awareness of sepsis, the leading cause of death in US hospitals, and educate the public, healthcare professionals, and policy makers about sepsis. As part of the Health Equity Investing Symposium, Sepsis Alliance will provide education to attendees on the true burden of sepsis, the signs and symptoms, and what can be done to reduce sepsis mortality. Additionally, attendees can engage in a roundtable discussion focusing on health equity related to maternal, neonatal, and pediatric sepsis.  

As part of the larger healthcare sector, Sepsis Alliance is committed to closing gaps in health outcomes. To learn more about sepsis and health equity and download the fact sheet, click here. 

To learn more and register for the Health Equity Investing Symposium, click here.    

References 

1 Phelan, J. C., & Link, B. G. (2015). Is racism a fundamental cause of inequalities in 

health?. Annual Review of Sociology, 41, 311-330.

2  Martin, G. S., Mannino, D. M., Eaton, S. and Moss, M. (2003) The epidemiology of

sepsis in the United States from 1979 through 2000, New England Journal of

Medicine, 348(16), 1546-1554.

3  Schrader, C. D. and Lewis, L. M. (2013) Racial disparity in emergency department

triage, J Emerg Med, 44(2), 511-518.

4  Kempker, J. A., Kramer, M. R., Waller, L. A. and Martin, G. S. (2018) Risk Factors

for Septicemia Deaths and Disparities in a Longitudinal US Cohort, Open Forum

Infectious Diseases, 5(12), ofy305.