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.”
Two New Protocols for Respirator Fit Testing from OSHA
The new protocols are variations of an existing OSHA-approved method, the ambient aerosol condensation nuclei counter (CNC) quantitative fit testing protocol, often referred to as the “PortaCount® protocol.”
Screen Patients for Social Determinants of Health With This 4-Part Tool
Social needs such as housing and food security can have a crucial effect on patient health. By making direct investments in initiatives designed to address social determinants of health and working with community partners, healthcare organizations can help patients achieve positive health outcomes in ways beyond the traditional provision of medical services.
Study: Most Healthcare Workers Ignore Policy, Work While Ill
Researchers conducted active surveillance at a 120-bed long-term care facility from December 2015 to April 2016 looking for respiratory viral infections among residents and healthcare providers.
USP Delays Revised Chapters; USP <800> to be ‘Informational’ Only
USP <800> will still take effect on December 1. The Healthcare Quality and Safety team at USP explained that it would only be “informational and not compendially applicable.”
Share Your Innovative Quality Improvement Ideas
Any professional who is currently involved in patient safety or quality improvement is welcome to submit a case study application. The 2020 PSQH Contest Committee, in conjunction with the PSQH administrative team, will select one case study to highlight in an upcoming issue of PSQH.
Joint Commission Releases Quality Dashboard Reports for ASCs
Available to Joint Commission surveyors and accredited ASCs, the reports are designed to help spur conversations about data, performance measures, and quality improvement in the survey process.
Metabolic Surgery Linked to Significantly Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
The recent research features data collected from more than 13,000 patients—2,287 patients who underwent metabolic surgery and 11,435 patients in a control group that did not have surgery.
Study: Use of High-Risk Antibiotics Leads to Increase in C. difficile Infections
For every 100 days of facility-wide antibiotic therapy using one of these high-risk antibiotics, researchers found a 12% increase in hospital-associated C. diff infection. However, further analysis found that only cephalosporins were significantly correlated with hospital-associated C. diff.
EPA Says There’s No Need for New Hazardous Spill Regs
In its final action, the EPA explains that new regulations are not necessary to regulate spills of hazardous substances (HS) because the “existing cumulative framework of regulatory requirements adequately serves to prevent and contain CWA HS discharges.”