Editor's Note In January, 5,757 workers lost their employment because they refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as ordered by a federal mandate and various local mandates covering private businesses. Out of those workers, 4,934 were healthcare providers, the February 4 Becker’s Hospital Review reports from data gathered by executive…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in January to a seasonally adjusted 16,112,100 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on February 4. That’s up 18,000 since December. Hospital employment was up by 3,400 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for January was 4.0%, for a total…

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Editor's Note The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a new fact sheet describing various waivers issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic that AHA opines should be extended or made permanent, as reported by the January 31 Healthcare Purchasing News. The waivers relate…

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Editor's Note Reducing OR time availability at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh, by 15% helped address a 30% staffing shortage caused by COVID-19, according to a study presented January 29 at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event in Dallas. A five-phase approach was used, which included:…

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Editor's Note Artificial intelligence (AI)-based scheduling significantly improved physician engagement and reduced burnout, in this study presented by Ochsner Health researchers, January 28, at the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ADVANCE 2022, the Anesthesiology Business Event, in Dallas. The AI-based scheduling software, which created fair and flexible schedules that supported work-life…

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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 The Joint Commission announced on January 19 that beginning January 27, 2022, for applicable deemed program surveys in progress on that day, it will begin surveying to the “Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination” interim final rule published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As…

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