Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Karen Lasater, PhD, RN, FAAN, at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, finds that if New York state enacts nurse staffing legislation currently under consideration, many lives would be saved and shorter hospital stays…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 27 updated its Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings for 2022—giving 429 hospitals a five-star rating, based on their performance across five quality categories, the July 27 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. There also were: 890 hospitals that received a…

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Cancer treatment delays in COVID-19 patients This large prospective cohort study from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, found that multiple patient factors, underlying primary malignant neoplasm, multimorbidity, geographic location, receipt of vaccine, and COVID-19 severity and diagnosis date were linked to delays in cancer treatment during…

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ORs rebounding from the financial impact of COVID-19 are looking for ways to reduce expenses. With rising costs coming from all angles of the economy, some have adopted systemwide processes to reduce, streamline, and improve surgical instrumentation sets. Two major health systems, the Cleveland Clinic and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital…

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In 2021, Patient Safety in Surgery published the article, “Incidence and OR team awareness of near-miss and retained surgical sharps: A national survey on United States operating rooms,” from a nationwide survey with over 400 surgeons, anesthesiologists, OR nurses and surgical technologists on the frequency of lost and retained sharps.…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons Quality Verification Program (ACS QVP) on July 18 recognized its inaugural 25 verified hospitals during the ACS Quality and Safety Conference in Chicago. Launched last summer, ACS QVP provides a standardized method for establishing, measuring, and improving a hospital’s quality infrastructure in all…

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Editor's Note In this clinical trial, scientists at University College London and the University of Sheffield found that robot-assisted surgery to remove and rebuild bladder cancer allowed patients to “recover much faster and spend considerably (20%) less time” in the hospital, SciTechDaily June 13 reports. Other findings included 52% less…

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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  This study from the American Cancer Society, Atlanta, finds that the prevalence of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening decreased during COVID-19. A total of 479,248 patients were included in the analysis for breast cancer screening, 301,453 for cervical cancer screening, and 854,210 for colorectal cancer screening. Between…

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Editor's Note National Time Out Day, June 8, draws attention to the need for everyone on the surgical team to pause before a surgical procedure begins to make sure they are doing the right procedure on the right patient at the right site. AORN created the National Time Out Day…

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