There is an abundance of wellness programs in American workplaces. In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 46% of 2,843 employer worksites offered some type of wellness program or health promotion. Hospitals are high users: 83% of the hospital respondents said they provided a workplace wellness…

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The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has revised the ANSI/AAMI PB70 Liquid barrier performance and classification of protective apparel and drapes intended for use in healthcare facilities. This revised standard provides healthcare professionals with a better understanding of the barrier protection properties of available protective apparel. The…

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Infection preventionists (IPs) play a vital role in healthcare, especially in the sterile processing department (SPD), where preventing infection and cross-contamination is paramount. As infection prevention advocates, SPD personnel are responsible for ensuring that surgical instruments and other medical devices are properly sterilized and free of harmful microorganisms before use.…

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Surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance has rapidly grown in the ambulatory setting over the last decade, with the expansion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network’s (NHSN) Outpatient Procedure Component (OPC). OPC-SSI is designed to track and monitor SSIs in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs)…

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Editor's Note ECRI, on May 18, announced the winners of its annual 2023 Alerts Impact Award. The Award is given to members of ECRI’s Alerts Workflow system for excellence in recall management. The system’s software is used by supply chain, clinical engineering, IT, pharmacy, lab, clinical departments, and ancillary-care points…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 11, finalized its recommendations for assessing blood donor eligibility, which uses individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. The questions will be the same for all donors, regardless of sexual orientation, sex, or gender. The new policy…

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Editor's Note Last week on May 11, the US Department of Labor announced more than $78 million in grants to 25 public-private partnerships to "support workforce training programs in 17 states and address staffing challenges nursing professionals face in the care economy," the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) reports.…

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Editor's Note Becker’s recently interviewed more than 40 male nurses about the advantages and disadvantages of being a man in nursing. Two points they all agreed on were that the opportunities and benefits offered by a career in nursing are not being marketed to men, and men are an untapped…

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Editor's Note Because there is limited data to guide return to driving recommendations for patients after surgery, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, performed this nested case-crossover study to find if the risk of a motor vehicle crash increases after surgery, compared to before. The analysis included 70,722 licensed…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 17, released a new Speak Up public education campaign on mental health. The campaign was released this month—Mental Health Awareness Month—to help consumers understand the signs and symptoms of mental illness as well as ways to receive help and advocate for care. “Speak…

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