Mother continues son’s memory with new ‘Lochlin’s Law’ to improve sepsis care
By Jennifer Franciotti
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ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (WBAL) — Among the new bills signed into law Thursday by Gov. Wes Moore is a bill called “Lochlin’s Law,” which creates mandates for sepsis care in hospitals and medical facilities.
Thursday was an emotional day for Brooke DeSantis.
The Frederick County mom and her supporters joined Gov. Wes Moore for the signing of a number of bills into law, including “Lochlin’s Law,” named after DeSantis’ 5-year-old son, Lochlin, who died in 2020 from sepsis after getting the flu.
“It shouldn’t have happened. What happened to us shouldn’t have happened to anybody,” DeSantis said.
“Lochlin’s Law” mandates every hospital and urgent care center in Maryland have sepsis care training and protocols.
“What that means is that for a patient whose vitals might be out of range, it will trigger the code, ‘sepsis.’ I will then have the provider look deeper into that patient and add additional testing,” DeSantis said.
Since Lochlin’s death, his family has made it their mission to help others by creating a nonprofit organization, Love for Lochlin, which takes mobile flu shot clinics into underserved communities, making them readily available.
“We take vaccines out to the public and also provide them with disinfectant and awareness of what sepsis is,” DeSantis said.
“Lochlin’s Law” takes effect on June 1, and Frederick County Delegate Ken Kerr, D-District 3, who helped get the bill passed, said it will undoubtedly save lives.
“Frederick Health Hospital implemented something like this for 15 years ago,” Kerr said. “They, at that time, had a 16% mortality rate. They implemented the sepsis protocol (and) mortality rate dropped to 4% and remains there today.”
DeSantis said the next step is to take “Lochlin’s Law” to the federal level.
“With this, we can say his death has meaning now because it’s not just him. He’s saving hundreds and thousands of lives,” DeSantis said.
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