Provider burnout in the OR has been a problem for years, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought staff morale to a low point in hospitals across the US. Many OR leaders are facing staffing shortages just as demand for elective surgery is increasing. This is a significant problem for hospitals…

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Editor's Note A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by employees of Houston Methodist who challenged the health system’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, the June 13 New York Times reports. US District Judge Lynn N. Hughes issued a ruling June 12 that upheld the hospital’s policy and noted that the…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expands on previous work showing increases in emergency department (ED) visits for suspected suicide attempts early in the pandemic for all ages and suggests that these trends persisted for those aged 12 to 17 years.…

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Editor's Note The CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora declared a “State of Emergency” on May 25, saying pediatric emergency departments and inpatient units are being “overrun with kids attempting suicide and suffering from other forms of major mental health illness.” In the last 2 years, Children’s has had…

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Editor's Note The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, in Washington, DC, released a report on May 25 that summarizes findings from a national survey of frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey of 1,200 HCWs from all 50 states and the District of…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission, on May 12, listed the top 5 standards most frequently identified as “not compliant” during surveys and reviews from January 1 to December 31, 2020. The top five for accredited hospitals are: NPSG.15.01.01: Reduce the risk for suicide. EP1. IC.02.02.01: The hospital reduces the risk…

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Editor's Note In this report, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, estimate the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths in Cook County over a 3-year period to highlight changes, before, during, and after the Illinois COVID-19 stay-at-home order. From January 2018 to December 2020, 4,283 overdose fatalities occurred…

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Editor's Note This study from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, finds that intraoperative deaths negatively affect surgical team members, with a considerable number experiencing feelings of anger and depression. Of 120 OR team members completing a survey, 82 (68.3%) said they had prior experience with intraoperative deaths, referencing more than…

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Editor's Note A week and a half after Chicago’s COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, a nurse taking a bus home after her shift was attacked by another passenger because she coughed into the crook of her arm. The nurse was wearing a mask, and she was dressed in scrubs, and she…

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Editor's Note The prevalence of burnout in anesthesiologists is high, and workplace factors are a big influence, finds this study led by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Of 3,898 respondents to a survey of American Society of Anesthesiologists members: 59.2% had a high risk of burnout…

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