Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on June 15 that refreshed Accelerate PI™ Dashboard Reports are available for primary stroke centers (PSCs) and comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs) to provide updated performance measurement data on quality measures selected for advanced certification. The reports, which contain data through the fourth quarter of…

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Editor's Note On June 14, The Joint Commission issued a new Quick Safety report to provide guidance for managing and storing packaged sterile supplies. Organizations must identify the best location to store supplies so staff can readily access them, and ensure the supplies are being stocked to the most optimal…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from Cornell University finds that nasopharyngeal swabs taken from back inside the nostril were more effective at detecting COVID-10 than saliva tests or swabs just inside the nostril or under the tongue. Comparing different samples from 77 patients, the researchers found that: Nasopharyngeal samples…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 9 updated the Class I recall by Woodside Acquisitions Inc of its Oral Rapid SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kits and Joysbio SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kits (Colloidal Gold) that are not authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA. The FDA…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds that childcare-related employment disruptions increased by nearly one-third in 2020 and was higher in caregivers for children with special healthcare needs, low-income families, and children from racial and ethnic minority groups. Included in the study were…

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Editor's Note For the ninth year in a row, Boston Children’s Hospital is ranked the best children’s hospital in the country, the June 14 US News reports. The publication looked at 119 children’s hospitals across the country and ranked them in 10 specialties, incorporating data on patient outcomes, health equity,…

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  Editor's Note In this study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, find that the use of eye protection by health care workers (HCWs) is important in preventing patient-to-HCW transmission of COVID-19. Of 345 HCWs who had a significant occupational exposure to patients with COVID-19, nurses accounted for 55.8%,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 10 announced that it will no longer require international travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test before flying to the US, effective June 12. The CDC continues to recommend that travelers flying to the US get tested as…

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Editor's Note This simulation study, led by researchers at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Cleveland, finds that reuse of N95 masks can result in contamination of those wearing the masks and the environment, even when correct technique is used. A total of 12 healthcare workers (HCWs) performed 3…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on June 8 identified the recall by Medtronic of its HeartWare Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD) Pump Implant Kit as Class I, the most serious. The HVAD System is used as a bridge to cardiac transplants. The Kit was recalled because of a…

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