Editor's Note On March 14, the Biden administration released a recommendation via the US Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) to restructure the VA healthcare system, including closing over 150 clinics and hospitals and constructing several new facilities, Becker’s March 15 reports. Citing information from the March 15 Washington Post article…

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Editor's Note In this poll of 2,200 adults in the US, conducted in December 2021 by philanthropy de Beaumont Foundation, 78% of respondents said physicians who intentionally spread misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines should be disciplined, JAMA Network February 16 reported. According to JAMA, most professional medical societies and specialty…

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Editor's Note On March 15, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted an emergency use authorization request to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a second booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 65 and older who have already received a booster of an approved COVID-10 vaccine. The two companies…

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Editor's Note On March 15, The Joint Commission released a statement expressing support for Ukraine, saying the enterprise “is devastated by the horror” of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. According to the statement, the World Health Organization “has identified at least 31 attacks on Ukrainian healthcare organizations” as of March 13, meaning…

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Editor's Note A survey from the American Nurses Foundation and marketing firm Joslin Insight, published on March 1, shows that many Generation Z and Millennial nurses are struggling with their mental health at work, and that about 60% say they will leave or are considering leaving their positions, Becker’s Hospital…

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Editor's Note At the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), UAMS Health, Little Rock, Arkansas, a half-day retreat for frontline nurses got instituted by Trenda Ray, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, UAMS Health's chief nursing officer and associate vice chancellor for patient care services, Health Leaders March 14 reports. The retreat…

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Editor's Note The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), on March 7, announced a short-term increase in highly focused inspections directed at hospitals and skilled nursing care facilities that care for COVID-19 patients. OSHA’s goal is to ensure continued mitigation efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 and future variants…

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Editor's Note Pleas by some states to be kind to healthcare workers (HCWs), who are exhausted and burned out from caring for COVID-19 patients, have expanded to bills that would offer protection for HCWs against physical or verbal assault as well as other forms of abuse like doxxing, the March…

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Editor's Note This study from the UK finds that primary immunization with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine provided limited protection against the Omicron variant. A booster substantially increased protection, but that waned over time. Included in the analysis are 886,774 Omicron variant infected patients, 204,154 Delta variant infected patients, and…

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