Editor's Note Evidence-informed and specialty-specific models of nursing assessment and ward redesign can benefit hospital safety, according to a study published January 27 in the International Journal of Nursing Studies. Called the ENCORE (evidence-based nursing core assessment) trial, the large-scale study led by Queensland University of Technology included 29,385 patient…

Read More

Editor's Note Following up with a nursing guide in addition to the the modified early warning score (MEWS) helps reduce early postoperative complications, according to the results of a recent clinical trial. Nursing guide application in patients followed up according to MEWS also decreased ISCU admission, decreased MEWS and increased…

Read More

Sterile Processing Department (SPD) managers and technicians know a thing or two about pressure. In a recent webinar covering sterile processing basics, Cori L. Ofstead, MSPH, president and CEO of Ofstead & Associates, Inc, and Abby Smart, MPH, research associate, cited the example of a 480-bed hospital that performed 13,650…

Read More

Editor's Note Using intravascular imaging to guide stent implantation during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) provides significantly better outcomes than angiography, according to findings published February 21 in The Lancet. In a study of 15,964 patients undergoing PCI from 22 trials in hundreds of centers from March 2010 to August 2023,…

Read More

Editor's Note The Joint Commission and National Quality Forum (NQF) on February 14 announced the recipients of the 2023 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards. The Awards recognize major achievements by individuals and organizations to improve patient safety and healthcare quality. This year’s recipients are: National Level Innovation…

Read More

Editor's Note Large healthcare systems considering a centralized Value Analysis Committee (VAC) model potentially have much to learn from a 10-hospital organization operating in the Washington, DC and Maryland region. MedStar Health System’s still-ongoing transition from multiple, facility-based improvement committees is the subject of one of the first posters to…

Read More

Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) have come together to release new standards for outpatient vascular centers aimed at enhancing the quality of care provided to patients receiving vascular surgical and procedural treatments, an ACS September 19 press release reports. These…

Read More

OR Manager’s 2023 Salary/Career Survey included the following question to respondents: “How do you measure productivity in your department?” The answers were eye-opening and spawned a two-part series on “Maximizing productivity measurement”: Part 1 was published in September, and Part 2 (cover story) is included in this issue. The leaders…

Read More

The OR is the financial motor of a hospital. As such, inefficiencies in this space adversely impact patient safety as well as the financial stability of the hospital and/or healthcare system. The first case on-time starts (FCOTS) metric is one of the primary benchmarks for assessing OR efficiency. The following…

Read More

Editor's Note “What happens when two worlds collide?” asked one of the speakers when discussing the combination of the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and the inpatient unit at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. The speakers were Cohen Children's Sharon Goodman, DNP, RN, NPD-BC, CPNP, director, pediatric service line; Kristen Martin, MSN,…

Read More