High-risk Patients Have Lower Mortality Rates at Major Teaching Hospitals
The 30-day mortality rate for these high-risk patients was 15.9% at major teaching hospitals, compared with 18.2% at non-teaching hospitals, according to researchers at Penn Medicine, who examined the medical records of 350,000 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent general, vascular or orthopedic surgery at 2,780 hospitals across the country, including 340 major teaching hospitals.
Knock Pressure Injury Rates Down to Zero
In 2018, the team set out to achieve zero Stage 3 and Stage 4 pressure injuries developed by patients after a hospital admission. Through education, risk assessment, and other prevention protocols, the goal was met in quarter three of 2018. In recognition of its work, the team received the 3M Award for Excellence in Skin Safety in June 2019.
Opioid Epidemic Linked to $205B in Excess Healthcare Spending Over 4 Years
The $205 billion attributable to excess healthcare spending between 2015 and 2018 included providing medical care for opioid addicts and infants born with neonatal opioid-related conditions, and other family members bearing costs associated with those diagnoses.
AdventHealth Uses AI to Balance Capacity Issues Among 9 Hospitals
Fueled by AI and predictive analytics, which amass data from multiple sources, a team of more than 50 nurses, EMS and flight dispatchers, transport techs, and other specialists work in the 12,000-square-foot facility with 60 monitors to oversee activities on nine campuses with 3,200 beds and more than 2 million patient visits per year.
CDC Urges Pregnant Women to Get Vaccinated
The lack of vaccination puts the health of both the mother and child at risk, the CDC said, as women with influenza are twice as likely to be hospitalized if they are pregnant and nearly 70% of whooping cough deaths came from babies less than two months old.
Infection Control is Front and Center at Annual Joint Commission Session
Infection control dominated the day’s presentations, which also looked at expectations for sterile compounding, Legionella control, using personal protective equipment, medication management, lowering maternal death rates, and, of course, ligature risk and suicide prevention.
PA Hospital Investigates Waterborne Bacteria as Cause of Three Infant Deaths
Geisinger is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the outbreak and ensure that the bacteria has been eliminated.
Top 10 Medical Technology Hazards for 2020 Announced
Surgical staples, point-of-care ultrasound, and infection risks from sterile processing top ECRI’s list of medical technology hazards for 2020.
Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters Tied to Severe Allergic Reactions
Researchers from Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary began the study after reports emerged of serious adverse events following PICC insertions, including hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis reactions.
What Keeps Black Women Nurses Out of Leadership Roles?
According to the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity’s 2015 benchmarking study, Diversity and Disparities: A Benchmarking Study of U.S. Hospitals in 2015, “minorities comprise only 14% of hospital board members, 11% of executive leadership positions, and 19% of first- and mid-level managers.”