Editor's Note This collaborative study by researchers at Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, finds that COVID-19 healthcare workers (HCWs) experienced high rates of moral injury, comparable to rates among military veterans. Moral injuries are described as actions that conflict with values and beliefs, causing psychological…

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Editor's Note This German study finds that bacterial contamination of healthcare workers’ (HCWs’) smartphones can be a source of cross-contamination, and cleaning intensity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 295 HCWs (99 in 2012 and 196 in 2021) from 26 wards comprising 19 different specialties included in the analysis, bacterial…

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Editor's Note In a March 28 update, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) says it is following the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine through Operation Giving Back, and that no current role or mechanism exists for safe travel to help in person at this time. ACS notes that healthcare facilities…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in March to a seasonally adjusted 16,192,400 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on April 1. That’s up 8,300 since February. Hospital employment also was up by 5,100 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for March was 3.6%, for a…

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Editor's Note In a March 23 Special Bulletin, the American Hospital Association (AHA) shared more information on how US hospitals and health systems can support Ukraine and refugees. In the bulletin, AHA said that certain medical supplies and equipment are “urgently needed.” Among the supplies and medicines listed are: baby…

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Editor's Note Hospital margins are off to a rough start this year, reports Becker’s Hospital Review March 30. According to a March 28 report by Kaufman Hall, the “median operating margin for hospitals and health systems” was down by 11.8% compared to February 2021 and by 42.4% compared to February…

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Editor's Note This study from the UK finds that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were associated with high short-term protection, but this protection waned considerably after 6 months; whereas, infection-acquired immunity boosted with vaccination remained high more than 1 year after COVID-19 infection. Of 35,768 participants analyzed, 9,488 (27%)…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced the availability of new Accelerate PI Dashboard Reports for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and nursing care centers (NCCs). The Reports provide updated performance measurement data on a select subset of quality measures. The ASC reports contain data through the fourth quarter…

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Editor's Note This French study finds that contact with COVID-19 patients was not the highest risk of COVID-19 in healthcare workers (HCWs). Of 3,234 HCWs enrolled in the study, 120 (3.8%) contracted COVID-19. The highest risk factors were contact with relatives or other HCWs  with COVID-19. Multivariate analysis showed that…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on March 30, announced that it had contracted with Dynamic Health IT to help develop a new Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) and electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) engine. The DDSP will facilitate submission of quality measurement data directly to The Joint Commission from approximately…

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