The Nicholas and Darren Sepsis Safety Act
The Nicholas and Darren Sepsis Safety Act is a proposed Texas law. It has not yet been filed in the Legislature, and it does not have a bill number. Our family is building support for it through a public petition.
What the proposal would do
Require every Texas hospital to use standardized protocols to identify and treat sepsis quickly, including early screening, rapid antibiotics and escalation procedures.
Require hospitals to report sepsis outcome data to the state.
Require annual sepsis training for clinical staff.
Create a statewide oversight committee of physicians, nurses and patient advocates to monitor outcomes and recommend improvements.
Set enforceable penalties, corrective action plans and possible licensing consequences for hospitals that repeatedly fail to comply.
Why it matters
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 1.7 million adults in the United States develop sepsis each year, and at least 350,000 of them die during their hospitalization or are discharged to hospice. Children develop sepsis too, and its early signs can look like common illnesses such as the flu.
Hospitals already report some sepsis care data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services through a federal quality measure known as SEP-1, which tracks whether certain steps in sepsis care were documented. It is a federal reporting measure, not a Texas requirement. Some states have gone further. New York, for example, has required hospitals to adopt sepsis protocols since 2013 under rules known as Rory's Regulations.
Who the act is named for
On December 23, 2023, our son Nicholas was discharged from a Texas emergency department. Two days later, he was admitted to another hospital in septic shock. The act is also named for Darren "DJ" Stanley Jr., who was 22. According to the petition, he was treated and discharged in 2023 despite signs of serious infection, and he did not survive.
How you can help
Sign the petition, share it, and ask your Texas state senator and representative to support statewide sepsis standards.
Contact your Texas legislators
The 90th Texas Legislature convenes on January 12, 2027. Bill filing opens on November 9, 2026, and the deadline to file most bills is March 12, 2027. For this proposal to be considered in 2027, a member of the Texas House or Texas Senate has to agree to file it.
Every Texan has one state representative and one state senator. Messages from people who live in their district get the most attention.
To find yours, use the "Who Represents Me?" tool on Texas Legislature Online at capitol.texas.gov.
A short message is enough. You can copy this one and add your own experience:
"I live in [your city], Texas, in your district. I am asking you to file or co-author legislation in the 2027 session that requires every Texas hospital to use standardized sepsis protocols for adults and children, report sepsis outcomes to the state and train staff every year. New York has required hospital sepsis protocols since 2013. Texas families deserve the same protection. Please let me know whether you will support a sepsis safety bill this session."