Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, finds that shortages of shoe covers, disposable head covers, and single-use facemasks during the COVID-19 pandemic did not increase surgical site infections (SSIs). Researchers compared SSI rates reported to the National Healthcare Safety…

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Editor's Note The biggest obstacle to achieving 100% vaccination rate in the US is no longer whether vaccines will be manufactured fast enough, or if there will be enough for the country’s population, Lisa Doggett, senior medical director at HGS AxisPoint Health, told Health Leaders March 8. “Rather, it's concerns…

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Editor's Note Surgical backlog is still a challenge that many ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are currently working through. According to Becker’s ASC Review March 3, this backlog “could take years for some centers to recover from depending on the specialty and site of care” and has led some ASCs to…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in February to a seasonally adjusted 16,184,800 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on March 4. That’s up 63,500 since January. Hospital employment also was up by 2,700 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for February was 3.8%, for a…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Chicago finds an association between social determinants of health measures and COVID-19 mortality rates that varied across racial and ethnic groups and community types. Among 3,142 counties in the study, 531 were identified as concentrated longitudinal-impact counties. Of these, 347 (11%) had…

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Editor's Note In this survey by the American Nurses Foundation, published March 1, 63% of nurses younger than 35 years said they intend to leave or are considering leaving the profession. A total of 12,694 nurses were surveyed. Other findings for nurses under 35 years of age, include: 46% said…

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Editor's Note On March 1, the American Hospital Association (AHA) submitted a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee urging Congress to consider and address the challenges the healthcare workforce is currently facing. As healthcare workers enter the third year of the pandemic, AHA likened current challenges to “a…

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Editor's Note Three American hospitals top Newsweek’s annual World’s Best Hospitals list, published on March 2. These hospitals have learned to adapt to new and existing challenges quickly during medicine's 2-year war against COVID-19, Newsweek says. The top three are: Mayo Clinic-Rochester, Rochester, Minnesota Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio Massachusetts General…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, finds that patient treatment at hospitals dedicated to COVID-19 care was associated with lower in-hospital mortality. Of 5,504 patients with COVID-19 analyzed, 2,077 were treated at one of two COVID-19 dedicated hospitals, and 3,427 were treated at other…

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Editor's Note In a study published by JAMA Surgery in December 2021, the association between weight loss resulting from a metabolic surgical procedure performed pre-pandemic and less severe COVID-19 infection was analyzed in patients with obesity. Patients who underwent a procedure pre-pandemic, lost weight, and then contracted COVID-19 saw better…

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