Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on January 17, announced the publication of two new resources to help reduce mortality and morbidity in pregnant and postpartum patients. Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 66: Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities causing mortality and morbidity in pregnant and postpartum patients—emphasizes the effects of social determinants…

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Editor's Note On January 10, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) reported on a new best practice guideline released to help healthcare professionals screen trauma patients for mental health disorders and substance misuse. Because alcohol and substance misuse problems are prevalent and increasing in trauma patients, this guideline is an…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 10 announced that it had recently issued two warning letters to Olympus Medical Systems Corporation and one of its subsidiaries, Aizu Olympus Co, Ltd, after facility inspections. The letters addressed violations related to medical device reporting (MDR) requirements and quality…

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Editor's Note More than 7,000 nurses at two New York hospitals started an open-ended strike on Monday after failing to reach a deal on new contracts, according to a January 9 release from the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), reports January 9 Healthcare Dive. The intention of the strike…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that the introduction and removal of Michigan’s executive order curtailing elective surgery during COVID-19 lagged behind the ramp-down and ramp-up of elective surgery volume. Hospitals had already achieved a 91.7% reduction in case volume before the executive order…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on January 10 announced that it had elevated the Leadership (LD) Standard LD.04.03.08, which addresses healthcare disparities as a quality and safety priority, to a National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG), effective July 1, 2023. Current requirements for accreditation will not change, and the intent behind…

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Editor's Note This week the Biden administration will be renewing the COVID-19 public health emergency for the 11th time since the pandemic began with claims that it will be the last time, reports January 10 Politico. The administration seeks to end the public health emergency as early as the spring.…

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Editor's Note Overall healthcare employment in the US was up in December to a seasonally adjusted 16,687,700 workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on January 6. That’s up 54,700 since November. Hospital employment also was up by 15,700 jobs. The overall unemployment rate for December was 3.5%, for a…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced January 4 that Northside Hospital, Atlanta, is the first in the country to receive Maternal Levels of Care Verification and the first in the state to receive a Level IV Maternal Center Designation from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Georgia is one of…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 16 identified the recall by Teleflex and Arrow International, LLC, of its Arrow MAC Two-Lumen Central Venous Access Kits and Arrow Pressure Injectable Arrowg+ard Blue Plus Three-Lumen Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Kits as Class I, the most serious. The recall…

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