Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on January 26 that it will add four new performance measures to four recently revised Health Care Staffing Services (HCSS) measures. The new measures will be used to report staff turnover rates and track reasons for staff turnover. The new performance measures apply to…

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Editor's Note In a probe led by House Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), some 200 House members have asked the White House to investigate allegedly inflated costs being charged by nurse staffing agencies, according to the January 26 Becker’s Hospital CFO Report. In the investigation request, the…

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Editor's Note A recent survey by McKinsey & Company finds that more than 30% of US nurses are thinking of leaving direct patient care for other roles. Reasons cited by nurses for leaving, include: ongoing demands of the COVID-19 pandemic hiring and retention incentives at other workplaces desire for support…

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Editor's Note Incidental COVID-19—when patients are admitted to the hospital for something other than COVID-19 but test positive for the virus during their stay—is a reality for most, if not all, hospitals. However, a Becker’s study finds that the frequency of incidental COVID-19 cases is particularly challenging for hospital staff…

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Editor's Note On January 19, a federal court dismissed a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas opposing the federal vaccine mandate. This came just days after the Supreme Court also ruled to uphold the mandate “to promote and protect patient health and safety.” On January 20, CMS issued updated…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health and Human Services on January 9 posted data showing that more than 19% of all hospitals in the US are experiencing critical staff shortages and more than 21% are anticipating shortages in the next week, the January 10 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. Five…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researcher Peter I. Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN, at Montana State University, Bozeman, finds a tightening of the labor market for RNs, LPNs, and nursing assistants (NAs), marked by falling employment and rising wages from February 2020 through June 2021. The researchers found unprecedented…

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Editor's Note Maryland Gov Larry Hogan on January 4, 2022, signed an executive order authorizing the secretary of the Maryland Department of Health to regulate hospital personnel, bed space, and supplies. A second order authorizes additional steps to further increase the state’s emergency medical services workforce, the January 5 Becker’s…

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Editor's Note Medscape’s 2021 Nurse Career Satisfaction Report, published December 29, 2021, found that the COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for the burnout of 20% of respondents, according to the January 3, 2022, Becker’s Hosptial Review. The survey of 10,788 nurses in various positions (ie, RNs, LPNs, APRNs) found the following:…

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Editor's Note Illinois Gov J. B. Pritzker and the Illinois Health and Hospital Association have asked hospitals to delay nonurgent surgical procedures in preparation for a “likely” post-holiday Omicron surge and shortage of staffed ICU beds, the January 3 Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The state is seeing about 500 new…

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