Terrorist incidents are increasingly frequent, and most US healthcare facilities have established mass casualty protocols to make sure they are prepared. Although treating large numbers of injured patients simultaneously is still the exception rather than the rule, many urban facilities regularly receive gunshot victims. A recent example of receiving multiple…

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Healthcare facilities are places of healing. Sometimes they also can be places of danger and death—just like the rest of the world. When an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) became the site of a fatal stabbing 3 years ago, outpatient surgery leapt into the public eye, and not in a good…

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Editor's Note Johns Hopkins University engineering students have designed an Ebola protection suit with a more comfortable hood and face mask that makes breathing easier, and it has a battery-powered system that lowers humidity in the suit. The University and DuPont have signed license and collaboration agreements allowing DuPont to…

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Editor's Note Women who put in long hours of work over many years have an increased risk of chronic, life threatening illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and diabetes, this study finds. Women’s work weeks that averaged 60 hours or more for more than 30 years tripled the risk of…

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Editor's Note Female RNs working a rotating night shift for 5 years or more was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in this study. The analysis included nearly 190,000 RNs involved in the Nurses’ Health Studies (NHS), who were followed over 24 years in…

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Editor's Note After six consecutive night shifts, anesthesia residents experienced significantly impaired control of all driving variables including speed, lane position, throttle, and steering in a driving simulator. They also were more likely to be involved in collisions. In addition, reaction times increased with a significant increase in the number of minor…

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Editor's Note AORN announced April 5 at the Surgical Conference & Expo in Anaheim, California, the creation of the Go Clear Award program, which will recognize health care facilities committed to a surgical smoke-free environment. The program, sponsored by Medtronic, is a 3-year national health education effort to raise awareness…

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Editor's Note The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 21 announced a proposal to ban most powdered gloves in the US. The proposed ban applies to powdered surgeons' gloves, powdered patient examination gloves, and absorbable powder for lubricating surgeons' gloves. Powdered gloves pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of…

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Editor's Note Working 46 hours per week or more increases the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), this study finds. Beginning at 46 hours, increasing work hours were progressively associated with increased risk of CVD (ie, angina, coronary disease, heart failure, heart attack, high blood pressure, or stroke). Compared to…

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Workplace violence reached a whole new level with the San Bernardino mass shooting earlier this month that left 14 dead just a week after three people died in a shooting at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado Springs. These incidents occurred for different reasons, but both cut short people’s lives…

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