Loneliness linked to postop mortality in Medicare patients
Editor's Note In this study of Medicare patients, researchers from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, find that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of death at 30 days after nonelective surgery. Of 4,453 patients in the analysis, 623 (14%) had nonelective surgery. The mean loneliness score was 1.5. Unadjusted…
CMS outlines steps to improve health equity data
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 10 issued a report outlining its plans, “for the first time,” to improve the transparency, accountability, and completeness of health equity data across its programs. “CMS defines health equity data as the combination of quantitative and qualitative elements…
Ayumi Fielden: Perioperative Nurses Week Interview
Today’s chat is with Ayumi Fielden, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CPAN, Professional Practice Leader, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? We have a lot to be thankful for this year. We lost some surgical…
Six more schools, hospitals launching nursing programs
Editor's Note Six more schools and hospitals have recently launched nursing programs or plan to do so in the future, the November 10 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Corewell Health in Grand Rapids and Southfield, Michigan, will start the state’s first nurse apprentice program in 2023. Central Main Healthcare, Lewiston, will…
Unplanned hospital visits within 7 days of outpatient surgery
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, finds that many patients have unplanned hospital visits within 7 days of outpatient surgical procedures performed in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs), often for potentially preventable reasons. The analysis included 1,135,441 outpatient surgical procedures performed at…
CDC posts HAI progress report
Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on November 4 posted the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) reported by US hospitals in 2021. The report showed that rates for four of six tracked infections had increased: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) increased 7%, with the largest increase…
Casey Orth-Nebitt: Perioperative Nurses Week Interview
Today’s chat is with Casey Orth-Nebitt, MSN, RN, CNOR, Director of Surgery, Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, Storm Lake, Iowa. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? I'm always thankful for my staff, who have remained loyal, hardworking, and…
Intermountain Healthcare using new AI to help detect colon cancer
Editor's Note Intermountain Healthcare in Utah is the first health system in the state to use a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool distributed by Medtronic that helps doctors detect colorectal polyps in real time during a colonoscopy, a GlobeNewswire press release reports on November 11. The new AI technology is…
American Heart Association, Mass General create digital health app for cardiac emergencies
Editor's Note The American Heart Association and Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General) have partnered to create and launch a new digital health app for frontline workers, according to an Association Press release published on November 9. The Association’s Adult Cardiac Life Support app offers access to key resources, such as algorithms for…
Tracy Hoeft-Hoffman: Perioperative Nurses Week Interview
Today’s chat is with Tracy Hoeft-Hoffman, MSN, MBA, RN, CASC, Administrator, Heartland Surgery Center, Kearney, Nebraska. Q: What is something that went right at your facility and/or that you are thankful for this year? What has gone right this year and makes our center so successful every year is the…