Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on November 10, released a new Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 64: “Addressing healthcare disparities by improving quality and safety.” The Alert summarizes strategies for healthcare and human services organizations as they begin to address healthcare disparities, and it provides examples of successful initiatives already underway.…

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Editor's Note Every year, Perioperative Nurses Week focuses attention on the work of more than 528,000 nurses who advocate for surgical patients. During the week, perioperative nurses are honored by colleagues and communities, highlighting the ways nurses are working to improve patient safety−before, during, and after surgery−in hospitals, ambulatory surgery…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at the University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, and the VA Boston Healthcare System, finds no difference in COVID-19 rates between counties where school was held in-person and those that had virtual school, except in the South. Researchers analyzed data from 895…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on November 2, recommended broad use of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Distribution of the vaccine to clinics, children’s hospitals, and pediatricians’ offices across the country have started, with plans to scale up to full…

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Editor's Note This study from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, finds that healthcare workers (HCWs) with prior COVID-19 infection followed by 2 doses of an mRNA vaccine developed higher spike antibody measurements than HCWs with vaccination alone. Of 1,960 HCWs analyzed, 73 (3.7%) had evidence of previous COVID-19 infection. Among those,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on Novermber 4, released regulations that will require Medicare-participating providers to ensure their staff members are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. CMS says: “Facilities covered by this regulation must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff have received the first dose…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on September 29, announced that healthcare facilities and providers should not purchase or use imported surgical and patient examination gloves from companies included on Import Alert 80-04. Companies are listed on an import alert when the FDA has enough evidence that they…

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Editor's Note This study, led by researchers at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, finds that despite the challenges associated with COVID-19, many US hospital systems were able to implement strategies in keeping with time-to-surgery standards for orthopedic trauma patients. Of 3,589 patients from 20 sites in the US and…

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Editor's Note This study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, finds that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can infect cells of the inner ear, including hair cells, which are critical for hearing and balance. A series of 10 COVID-19 patients with audiovestibular symptoms, such as…

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Editor's Note In FY 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will penalize 2,499 (47%) hospitals for excessive patient readmissions, the October 28 Kaiser Health News reports. In its 10th year of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, CMS will cut payments to the penalized hospitals by as much…

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