Rory Staunton

Staunton's parents and sister immediately embarked on a nationwide campaign to alert parents of young children to sepsis possibility when a child is injured. Their work resulted in the passage of "Rory's Regulations" in New York State by Governor Cuomo in January 2013. These regulations require all hospitals to adopt best practices for the early identification and treatment of sepsis. The regulations also require special procedures for pediatric patients including communication of critical test results and the posting of a "Parents Bill of Rights". The Staunton family also established the Rory Staunton Foundation to support education and outreach efforts aimed at rapid diagnosis and treatment of sepsis, particularly in children. Several letters received by the Foundation have credited reading about Staunton's experience with saving their own children's lives after they developed similar symptoms.

On September 23, 2013, the Rory Staunton Field was officially declared open by Congressman Joe Crowley in Queens, beside where Staunton attended the Garden School. He and his family were instrumental in saving the park from turning into a high-rise building.

At a Senate HELP Committee's hearing on September 24, 2013 – U.S. Efforts to Reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI's) – Rory Staunton's case was highlighted and testimony was heard from his dad. Senator Tom Harkin highlighted the criticality of the issue, stating: "...we need Rory's Regulations in every state so that they can recognize sepsis." On September 17, 2014, The Rory Staunton Foundation held the first ever Sepsis Forum in Washington D.C. attended by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY); Thomas Frieden M.D., Director CDC; Patrick Conway, M.D., CMS Chief Medical Officer; Congressman Joseph Crowley; and Kevin Tracey M.D. Director, Feinstein Institute. In November 2014, the Staunton family met with U.S. Health Secretary, Sylvia Mathews Burwell and addressed the opening session of the CMS Health Conference in Baltimore, Maryland.

Staunton died after receiving a scrape on his arm during a basketball game at school. He was not sent to the school nurse to address his wounds. His parents brought him to his pediatrician Susan Levitzky, who failed to recognize the obvious symptoms of sepsis and who sent him to NYU Langone emergency room in New York for re-hydration. At NYU Langone, hospital staff missed several critical symptoms indicating he was developing sepsis, the most damaging of which was the failure to read a blood test that indicated very high white blood cell count. He was sent home where his condition worsened, he became seriously ill before returning to the hospital the next evening. By then it was too late and he died of sepsis at NYU Langone on April 1, 2012. Staunton is survived by his parents and sister Kathleen. He is buried next to his grandmother in Drogheda, Ireland.

Rory Staunton (13 May 1999 – 1 April 2012) was a young boy from Queens, New York, whose death from sepsis created a nationwide movement to address the issue of early recognition of sepsis and its treatment.