How Nurses are Urging the Unvaccinated to Reconsider
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses has launched Hear Us Out, a nationwide effort to show the COVID-19 pandemic from frontline nurses’ perspective and urge those who have yet to be vaccinated to reconsider.
Survey: As COVID-19 Numbers Soar, Some Nurses Don’t Have Adequate Protections
Nurses still face problems with access to testing, being notified in a timely manner when they are exposed, inadequate respiratory protection, unsafe staffing, mental health, and workplace violence, the survey reveals. Compared to results from the last survey in March 2021, RNs also reported inadequate COVID screening and testing rates for patients who enter or are admitted to a healthcare facility and a decrease in dedicated COVID units.
COVID-19 Cost U.S. 9M Years of Life Expectancy
The COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed more than 660,000 lives in the U.S. has also cut aggregate life expectancy here by more than 9 million years, according to a study published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine. The study authors said their findings suggest that the mortality burden of COVID-19 is more substantial than previously thought.
CEO Coalition Declares New Definition of Safety to Protect Healthcare Workers
The COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the fierce dedication and commitment of healthcare workers as we watched them run into the fire, during surge after surge, to care for their patients and support their colleagues. The pandemic also put a spotlight on the psychological, emotional, and physical trauma they endured due to system inefficiencies and supply and staffing shortfalls.
CMS to Require Staff at Hospitals, Other Facilities to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Look for an interim final rule in October that will require “staff within all Medicare and Medicaid-certified facilities” to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a press release by CMS on Thursday afternoon.
More Virus, More Fraud
In early 2020, the FBI issued a warning to individuals and entities, including health systems, to be on the lookout for robocalls making fraudulent offers to sell large amounts of PPE such as respiratory masks or other medical devices. These scams would often demand advance payments with no intent of delivery.
COVID-19 Vaccines Prevented Nearly 140,000 Deaths in the U.S.
The study, published online by the journal Health Affairs, is one of the first to assess the impacts of state-level vaccination campaigns to address the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release from RAND, a nonprofit research organization that, along with Indiana University researchers, conducted the study.
COVID-19’s Impact on the Point-of-Care Ecosystem
COVID-19 profoundly changed the point-of-care ecosystem. Business as usual was no longer possible, and healthcare organizations had to reassess the point of care in order to keep staff and patients safe. Making the best of an unprecedented situation, the industry saw new ideas, new workflows, and new technologies emerge, enabling game-changing best practices that are set to continue long after the pandemic is over.
Hospital at Home Program Rises to Coronavirus Pandemic Challenge
The new research article, which was published by the Journal of General Internal Medicine, highlights the performance of the Brigham Health Home Hospital at Brigham and Women’s Hospital program during the early phase of the pandemic. The study covers the period from March 15, 2020, to June 18, 2020, when the Boston area experienced its first COVID-19 patient surge.
New Survey Report Details Coronavirus Pandemic’s Negative Impact on Physicians
There has been a significant increase in physician burnout during the pandemic, with 61% of physicians reporting having feelings of burnout often, which is a 20% increase compared to the physician burnout level that The Physicians Foundation reported in 2018.