Editor's Note This systematic review and meta-analysis from Stony Brook Cancer Center, Stony Brook University, New York City, and the University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, finds that COVID-19 pandemic measures were associated with widely reduced cancer screening services. Between January and October 2020, there was an overall decrease of: -46.7%…

Read More

Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in June to a seasonally adjusted 16,314,900 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 8. That’s up 56,700 since May. Hospital employment also was up by 20,500 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for June remained at 3.6%, for…

Read More

Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at The Ohio State University College of Nursing explores the professional and personal experiences of US nurse managers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis, which includes views of 39 nurse managers from 5 US health systems, identifies three major themes—challenges, feelings and…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission on June 29 announced that the application deadline for the "Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity" has been extended through July 14. The Tyson Award was established in partnership with Kaiser Permanente in honor of Bernard J. Tyson, the…

Read More

Editor's Note This study by researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Boston University finds that maternal deaths increased 33.3% after March 2020, which corresponds with the onset of COVID-19. This is higher than the 22% overall excess death estimate associated with the pandemic. Among the findings: 1,588…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on June 28 recommended updating the composition of COVID-19 booster vaccines to target the Omicron variant. The Committee noted that booster doses consisting of an Omicron monovalent or bivalent vaccine could improve neutralizing antibody responses…

Read More

Editor's Note Researchers at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, gathered an interdisciplinary team to organize a safe and time efficient precleaning workflow for their fast-paced GI clinic that decreased time spent precleaning by 50%. The researchers identified inadequate precleaning processes, including staff who did not follow…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on June 28, announced a new Quick Safety advisory on “Managing packaged sterile supplies and devices.” The advisory provides guidance to keep patients safe from infection and harm from expired or compromised supplies and devices and urges healthcare workers (HCWs) to pay close attention to…

Read More

Editor's Note In this study from the University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, researchers developed a machine learning model that improved the ability to predict surgery end times and PACU discharge at a range of start times in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC). Of 13,447 surgical procedures analyzed, the…

Read More

Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 28 identified the recall by GE Healthcare of its CARESCAPE R860 Ventilator as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated because the ventilator backup batteries, including replacement backup batteries, may run out before they are expected to do…

Read More