Although COVID-19 cases are still emerging in many parts of the country, some businesses have reopened and some elective procedures are once again being performed. Many events that did not take place in the spring will be held in the fall, including the annual OR Manager Conference, September 30 to…

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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is arguably the greatest advancement in surgery in the last 20 years. But even healthcare leaders who support the use of ERAS to achieve better outcomes can find it daunting to implement the protocols throughout their hospital systems. Standardizing practices across areas that have historically…

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Routine cleaning and maintenance of the equipment used to process medical devices is important to prevent contamination of medical devices. This article will discuss the required cleaning and maintenance in a sterile processing department (SPD) as well as the guidelines and regulations that inform these practices.   Environmental issues Recommendations…

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The fast-paced environment in an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) requires meticulous handoffs, and daily huddles—brief (10 to 20 minute) stand-up meetings—can raise awareness of any potential safety issues. That has been the experience at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, Iowa, and some of what we learned might help others improve…

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Editor's Note Treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients with anticoagulants may improve their chances of survival, this study from Mount Sinai finds. Of 2,773 COVID-19 patients analyzed, 786 received a full-treatment dose of anticoagulants, which was a higher dose than that typically given for clot prevention; it is one usually given to…

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Editor's Note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 8 updated it weekly surveillance summary of COVID-19 activity in the US for week 18. Among the updates: The percentage of specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 decreased at public health, commercial, and clinical laboratories. Labs have confirmed 832,238 positive…

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Editor's Note A new study from researchers in Hong Kong finds that the MAIL2.0 nowcast artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm, which was developed with concepts used in economics and meteorology, yields a high level of accuracy for identifying COVID-19 in chest x-rays, the May 5 AuntMinny.com reports. The algorithm yielded 84.7%…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 1 announced the launch of the “SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing for Public Health Emergency Response, Epidemiology and Surveillance (SPHERES)” consortium. This network of laboratories will speed the release of SARS-CoV-2 sequence data into the public domain for use by public…

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Editor's Note This year, the American Nurses Association has extended the traditional National Nurses Week to a month of recognition, May 1-31. National Nurses Day, May 6, marks the beginning of National Nurses Week, which ends on May 12, the 200th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. This year’s theme is “Nurses…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 1 updated its weekly surveillance summary of COVID-19 activity in the US ending April 25. Among the updates: The percentage of specimens testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 decreased at public health and commercial laboratories and remained similar at clinical labs.…

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