Coronavirus: Northwell’s 10-Step Recipe for Addressing Patient Surges
The health system, which features 23 hospitals and 800 ambulatory sites, treated about 20,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients during the spring surge, says Mark Jarrett, MD, MBA, senior vice president, chief quality officer, and deputy chief medical officer at Northwell.
Amid COVID-19, OSHA Issues Respirator Guidance for Long-Term Care Facilities
The industrial hygiene “hierarchy of controls” is a series of workplace safety and health interventions that begins with elimination of hazards, followed by substitution, then engineering controls, administrative controls (including work practices), and personal protective equipment.
Researchers Explore Breathtaking Possibility: A Rapid, Low-Cost COVID-19 Breath Test
A joint development agreement between BreathTech Corporation, a subsidiary of Austin, Texas-based Astrotech, and Cleveland Clinic focuses on using a non-invasive device that will analyze breath samples to identify COVID-19 strains.
Addressing and Extending Psychosocial Care and Support to Patients and HCWs During COVID-19
In the authors’ hospital of practice, patients who required isolation at the hospital had to adhere to strict infection control protocols, and some did not have a readily available caregiver who could room with them. While provisions were made for these patients to receive some of their essential belongings from home such as their gadgets, phones, and toys, many were unable to access them owing to caregiver challenges, giving rise to feelings of isolation and displacement.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 14 – Infection Prevention During a Pandemic
On episode 14 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to LRC Systems founder and CEO Dr. Shailesh Date about how U.S. hospitals have responded to COVID-19, what to expect as we enter flu season, thoughts about a potential vaccine, and the threat of co-infections. This episode is part of PSQH’s celebration of International Infection Prevention Week and is brought to you by Angelini Pharma and GOJO, the inventors of Purell.
Hospital Admissions Bounce Back, But Still Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
Using electronic medical record data gleaned from Epic Health Research Network, the KFF researchers looked at total hospital admissions and non-COVID-19 admissions by patient sex, age, and region to calculate the actual admissions as a share of total predicted admissions for 2020 based on past trends.
United States Faring Poorly in Coronavirus Deaths
The United States has led the world in reported coronavirus deaths. As of Oct. 15, more than 221,000 Americans had died of COVID-19, according to worldometer. The country with the next highest death count was Brazil at more than 150,000.
Mortality Data Supports Placing Seriously Ill Coronavirus Patients on ECMO
The co-authors of the recent research article wrote that the study provides “provisional support” for using ECMO to treat coronavirus patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. “In ECMO-supported patients with COVID-19 and characterized as having ARDS, estimated in-hospital mortality 90 days after ECMO initiation was 38.0%, consistent with previous mortality rates in non-COVID-19 ECMO-supported patients with ARDS and acute respiratory failure.”
One in Five Younger Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19 Require Intensive Care
The Brigham and Women’s Hospital researchers used the Premier Healthcare Database to look at clinical records from 419 hospitals that treated 3,222 hospitalized COVID-19 patients aged 18-34.
Patients with cardiovascular risk factors represented 37% of the young people hospitalized, while 24.5% of patients had obesity and morbid obesity, 18.2% had diabetes and 16% had hypertension.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 13 – Needle-Free Technology and Battling COVID-19
On episode 13 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Scott McFarland, CEO of Integrimedical, about needle-free technology and his own experience of contracting COVID-19.