Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney, has announced the recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad for 2022.
Among the award winners are Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, who lost their son Rory to Sepsis ten years ago. Even as they grieved, Ciaran and Orlaith set up a foundation, the aim of which was to raise awareness of Sepsis and to prevent the kind of loss that their family had experienced.
In recent weeks the work of the foundation has borne significant fruit.
Last month, the foundation was able to announce this: "Today marks an historic moment for our movement to transform the national approach to sepsis and end preventable deaths. Just a few hours ago, on the floor of the United States Senate, our friend Senator Charles Schumer gave a rousing speech on the gravity of the sepsis crisis and the need for a national approach to combat it. It is the first time that sepsis has been mentioned on the Senate floor. This is a bipartisan initiative supported by the leadership of both parties.
"Senator Schumer denounced the lack of attention that sepsis receives despite the staggering loss of life it brings, he urged federal entities to do better in terms of treatment guidelines and allocation of resources, and he strongly advocated for Rory’s Regulations to inform a national model of care. Rory’s Regulations mandate protocolized care when sepsis is suspected in all hospitals in New York State; they were instigated by our family following Rory’s death and we are proud that they bear our son’s name."
Senator Schumer has supported the foundation's work from the start and penned a letter supporting the award that will be presented to the Staunton's next month at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin.
That letter has been released by Schumer's office.
It states: "I write in strong support of two of my extraordinary constituents, Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton, to earn the recognition of a Presidential Distinguished Service Award. Ciaran and Orlaith have gone above and beyond in their campaign to save lives through their work to End Sepsis and their work is worthy of the highest recognition.
"I first met Ciaran, from Mayo, and Orlaith, from Louth, while working with Ciaran to pass comprehensive immigration reform, including expanding immigration opportunities and legalization for the Irish. In the wake of the tragic death of their son, Rory (who I met and knew), from sepsis in 2012, I and my staff have worked closely with them as they bravely sublimated their pain into positive action.
"They attacked the scourge of sepsis—determined to prevent others from experiencing the indescribable pain they had to endure. Their grief from Rory’s loss was powerful, but so was their determination to make a positive change. Rather than curse the darkness, Ciaran and Orlaith chose to light a candle by founding the Rory Staunton Foundation to tackle the issue of sepsis by raising awareness about the mistakes that led to their son’s preventable death.
"Thanks to their tenacity, passion, and intelligence, New York State adopted the groundbreaking and historic 'Rory’s Regulations,' which required health-care providers to develop and implement protocols to rapidly diagnose and treat sepsis infections.
"The impact was astounding. The adoption of Rory’s Regulations has saved thousands of lives in New York, and also across the country, in states that have adopted similar protocols. In fact, a recent study demonstrated up to 16,000 people have been saved by their work. We are hard at work with Ciaran and Orlaith to get more states to adopt the regulations.
“'Since the passage of Rory’s Regulations, hospitals are now required to adopt important protocols that help with the early detection and treatment of sepsis. And these efforts played an important role in saving thousands of New Yorkers’ lives,' State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett recently said.
"Ciaran and Orlaith’s selfless, life-saving work in memory of their son is quintessentially Irish, driven by an unflinching perseverance in the face of adversity, as well as fierce devotion to the betterment of humanity.
"The Stauntons are emblematic of the indelible impact that the Irish have made on New York and the United States of America, and I nominate them for a Presidential Distinguished Service Award in honor of their tireless work to improve the world around them."
