Editor's Note The Leapfrog Group, on May 3, announced that its new Hospital Safety Grade shows a significant increase in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, spiking to a 5-year high and remaining high. Their analysis found that the average: Central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) ratio increased 60% Methicillin-resistant…

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Editor's Note This study led by nurse researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, finds that rest break practices of 12-hour shift nurses are of poor quality. Survey data from 806 nurses were analyzed. Key findings include: Most nurses did not take regular rest breaks. Breaks were often interrupted, spent…

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Editor's Note The US State Department will not accept any more applications for green cards for foreign nurses this year, and only applications that were submitted by June 2022 will be processed until the backlog eases, the April 24 Becker’s Clinical Leadership & Infection Control reports. Current green card processing…

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Editor's Note This investigation by the Kentucky Department for Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of eight cases of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) infections in a Kentucky hospital after total joint replacement procedures found that the presence of a particular OR nurse was significantly associated with the…

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Editor's Note The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), on March 29, issued a news report urging the public to learn to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose, now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved naloxone for sale over the counter. Naloxone, which is commonly sold as a…

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Editor's Note In this study, led by the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, researchers developed and validated better surgical specialty-specific multimorbidity definitions based on distinct characteristics of older inpatients undergoing general, orthopedic, or vascular surgery. The researchers used 2016 to 2017 Medicare administrative claims data on patients…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Kaiser Permanente on March 15 announced that they are now accepting applications for the 2023 Bernard J. Tyson National Award for Excellence in Pursuit of Healthcare Equity. The award, now in its 3rd year, recognizes a healthcare organization for an intervention that led to…

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Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver, finds an association between a communication and optimal resolution (CANDOR) program and increases in most measures of healthcare professional satisfaction. CANDOR is used when a patient experiences an unexpected adverse outcome. The analysis included survey data from…

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Editor's Note The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announced on December 21 that it no longer recommends Universal COVID-19 screening for asymptomatic hospital patients, reports December 21 Fierce Healthcare. The new recommendation was published by the organization’s board of directors in the Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology journal.…

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Editor's Note Healthcare systems need to find innovative solutions to address the nursing shortage, according to a 2023 report from American Hospital Association (AHA), reports December 9 Becker’s Hospital Review. The report noted that the US nursing workforce lost over 100,000 people within the last 3 years, which is the…

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