5 more systems adding nursing programs
Editor's Note Five more healthcare systems are launching or expanding nursing programs, the January 4 Beckerโs Hospital Review reports. Penn medicine, Philadelphia, partnered with the Howley Foundation and La Salle University to launch the ASPIRE Program at the University of Pennsylvania, which allows high school juniors to begin training to…
Disparities in access to elective surgical procedures during recovery phase of pandemic
Editor's Note This study from the University of California, San Francisco, finds that patient access to elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic recovery phase was limited by disparities based on age, language, marital status, insurance, socioeconomic status, and distance from care. Among the findings: The number of patients with…
Kaufman Hall report: Hospitals report negative margins, November 2022
Editor's Note Healthcare systems across the nation were still operating with negative margins in November of 2022, according to Kaufman Hallโs December National Hospital Flash Report, noted the American Hospital Association on January 4. The report looked at data from over 900 hospitals and noted that median operating margins for…
The Joint Commission: Northside Hospital receives first Maternal Levels of Care Verification
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced January 4 that Northside Hospital, Atlanta, is the first in the country to receive Maternal Levels of Care Verification and the first in the state to receive a Level IV Maternal Center Designation from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Georgia is one of…
Comparison of postop opioids prescribed by APCs vs surgeons
Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, finds that postoperative opioid prescriptions written by advanced practice clinicians (APCs), defined as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, had higher total dosages compared with those written by surgeons. A total of 628,197 surgical procedures involving 581,387 adults…
FDA: Class I recall of Arrow central venous access and catheter kits
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…
2022 statistics on healthcare workplace violence
Editor's Note Workplace violence is a current obstacle nurses and healthcare workers face every day, reports December 29 Becker's Hospital Review.ย In response, Healthcare communities have urged Congress to pass legislation to diminish any violent threats or attacks on hospital workers. Statistics on workplace violence against nurses, based on data…
Utility of lighted magnification, borescopes to inspect flexible endoscopes
Editor's Note This study led by epidemiologist Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, and associates, St Paul, Minnesota, found visible damage and residue or debris in 100% of 25 processed flexible endoscopes, using a new visual inspection program that included magnification and borescopes. Fully processed endoscopes were examined twice during a 2-month…
FDA: Class I recall of Arrow AutoCAT2, AC3 IABPs
Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on December 20, identified the recall by Arrow International, LLC, subsidiary of Teleflex, Inc, of its Arrow AutoCAT 2 and AC3 intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABPs) as Class I, the most serious. IABPs are used in patients having cardiac and non-cardiac surgery, and…
The Joint Commission announces standards reductions, revisions for 2023
Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on December 21 that they are eliminating 168 standards (14%) and revising 14 other standards across its accreditation programs in the new year. The Joint Commission additionally announced that it will not raise accreditation fees for domestic hospitals in the coming year due the…