ABOUT SEPSIS ALLIANCE: 

Sepsis Alliance is the nation's first and leading sepsis patient advocacy organization, working in all 50 states to save lives and reduce suffering by improving sepsis awareness and care. Sepsis.org, the organization's website, serves the needs of more than 2.5 million visitors each year. The organization's Clinical Community and Sepsis Alliance Institute have provided training to more than 40,000 health providers. Since 2003, sepsis awareness in the U.S. has risen from 19% to 71%. Sepsis Alliance is a GuideStar Platinum Rated charity. For more information, please visit www.sepsis.org 

ABOUT SEPSIS 

Sepsis is the body's overwhelming response to infection, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, amputations, and death. Sepsis is the #1 cause of death in U.S. hospitals, killing 270,000 people each year in the U.S., or one person every two minutes. Sepsis kills more children than cancer and more adults than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and opioid overdoses, combined. It is the #1 cost for acute and skilled nursing care at $62 billion per year. Sepsis is the most severe complication of COVID-19 that is responsible for most deaths from this infection. 

In the United States, differences in health and mortality are influenced by both socio-economic status and race/ethnicity. Black and "other nonwhite" individuals have nearly twice the incidence of sepsis as whites. Blacks bear nearly twice the burden of sepsis deaths relative to the size of the Black population, as compared to whites, and sepsis deaths among American Indians/Alaskan Natives and Hispanics are also elevated as compared to whites. For Sepsis Alliance, health equity means eliminating preventable disparities in sepsis incidence, morbidity, and mortality. 

ROLE:   

Under the direction of the Communications Director, the HEALTH EQUITY Communications Intern will assist with the development and implementation of Sepsis Alliance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) programs and content.      

RESPONSIBILITIES:  

Public education programs 

• Assist with content creation and outreach for multi-cultural education campaigns, which could include: 
• Developing and compiling relevant educational materials; 
• Researching health organizations that serve a diverse range of communities, with a particular focus on underserved communities and communities of color;  
• Establishing contact with new potential partners, and helping to maintain relationships with existing partners; 
• Working with identified partners to hone and disseminate campaign elements to create greater access to sepsis education; 
• Reporting on progress of the campaign(s) 
• Develop and implement a strategy to improve the Faces of Sepsis™ collection on sepsis.org and make it more representative of the diverse communities Sepsis Alliance serves.

Advocacy  

• Assist with the management of Sepsis Alliance's industry EDI pledge  
• Maintain tracking of signatories; 
• Provide appropriate follow up to signatories; 
• Report on signatory statistics, such as how many have signed on, and how many employees they represent; 
• Contribute to communications/marketing strategy for the EDI pledge and help to garner additional health industry signatories. 
• Work on public policy projects as needed

General 

• Work with core team to ensure EDI is discussed and implemented in all projects; 
• Provide ideas and strategies to increase multi-cultural content and diversity in resources – for social media, website, and campaigns; 
• Additional projects as needed.

QUALIFICATIONS:  

• Strong interest and some experience in healthcare policy, especially in health equity and public health issues; 
• Interest in content creation and development;  
• Interest in marketing and strategic communications in a mission-driven setting; 
• Interest in/knowledge of health sector disparities and strategies for improving health outcomes for underserved populations; 
• Strong creativity and critical thinking skills;  
• Passion to improve health outcomes and save lives;  
• Interest in non-profit industry.

SKILLS:  

• Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word;  
• Strong writing experience; 
• Database experience; 
• Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite preferred, but not necessary; 
• Ability to prioritize and multitask multiple projects; 
• Ability to work independently and virtually;  
• Ability to manage positive relationships with staff and partners, and contribute as part of the team; 
• Bilingual a plus

COMPENSATION: $20 per hour    

SCHEDULE & LOCATION: This position is able to be remote or a hybrid in-office (San Diego and remote) position. The internship position is about 15-20 hours a week. Preferred length is 4-6 months with the opportunity to extend.