Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on September 13 that it is reviewing its standards and requirements that go beyond the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conditions of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to determine whether some should be permanently retired. “As the [COVID-19 public health…

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Editor's Note  According to the leader of the World Health Organization (WHO), the end of the COVID-19 pandemic may be near, as deaths are at their lowest level worldwide since the pandemic first began, US News & World Report September 15 reports. During the week of September 5 through September…

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Editor's Note The recently revised “Guideline for Processing Flexible Endoscopes” recommends that flexible endoscopes be stored in drying cabinets, the September 14 Periop Today reports. The explanation for this new recommendation includes: Optimal storage facilitates drying and decreases the potential for contamination. Studies on drying cabinets, which circulate HEPA-filtered air…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration on September 12 identified the recall by Medtronic Xomed of its NIM Contact Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube and NIM Standard Reinforced EMG Endotracheal Tube as Class I, the most serious. The recall was initiated after Medtronic Xomed received customer complaints about obstruction of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on September 7 released sentinel event data for the first 6 months of 2022. Of 832 events reviewed this year from January 1 to June 30, the top 10 most frequently reported were: Falls—199 Unintended retention of foreign objects—30 Suicides—26 Delays in treatment—25 Wrong surgery—19…

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Editor's Note A new report was released by the American Hospital Association (AHA) highlighting numerous causes that resulted in 136 rural hospitals closing from 2010 to 2021, including 19 closures in 2020, AHA September 8 reports. These closures can be attributed to longstanding pressures, including low reimbursement, staffing shortages, low…

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Editor's Note  The Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) Governing Board established the new FIF for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) at its inaugural meeting from September 8-9, World Health Organization (WHO) September 9 reports. The goal is to provide long-term financing to strengthen PPR capabilities in low- and middle-income countries…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that COVID-19 vaccines are strongly associated with preventing serious illness. Analyzing data from 192,509 hospitalizations in 250 US hospitals: monthly COVID-19 associated hospitalization rates ranged from 3.5 to 17.7 times higher in unvaccinated…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 8 issued a Safety Communication informing the public about reports of cancers, including squamous cell carcinomas and various lymphomas in the scar tissue that forms around breast implants. The various lymphomas are not the same as the lymphomas reported in…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) on September 7 released part three of a three-part series of its workforce guide focused on strategies, resources, and case studies from hospitals and other health systems. The AHA Board of Trustees’ Task Force on Workforce provided guidance for the series with input…

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