Mandatory hospital sepsis protocols save thousands of lives

An autonomous robot commonly used in hospitals to transport medication and other supplies from room to room could be hacked and used to spy on patients and staff, according to a New York-based healthcare IoT security company. Cynerio announced earlier this month that its researchers had discovered five vulnerabilities in the innards of the Aethon TUG smart autonomous robot, which is sued in hundreds of healthcare sites around the world.

The establishment of mandatory sepsis protocols at all hospitals in New York State is estimated to have saved more than 16,000 lives between 2015 and 2019, according to the New York State Department of Health.

The mandatory sepsis protocols in New York were implemented in 2013 following the death of a 12-year-old boy from Queens, Rory Staunton, who succumbed to undiagnosed and untreated sepsis in a New York City hospital in 2012. The regulations requiring the sepsis protocols are known as Rory's Regulations.

Nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic suffered overwhelmingly from "moral distress," says a new study from researchers at DePaul University’s School of Nursing in Chicago. The study's purpose was to qualitatively describe the emotions experienced by U.S. nurses during the initial pandemic response, so researchers interviewed a diverse group 100 nurses—the first large-scale study of its kind, according to the study.

"Study participants resoundingly articulated a chasm between how they would have liked to have performed according to their professional duty and obligations as nurses versus the reality of providing patient care during the first wave of the pandemic," researchers said.

In my travels, all too often I’ve found that some organizations don’t have the most organized approach to bringing unoccupied spaces back online. And it’s just not stuff (including debris) that got left behind—there may be new tenants occupying the space for which their new living arrangements are very much in opposition to your intentions for the spaces in question.

Ready to be operable for 96 hours in the event of an emergency?

As stated in The Joint Commission’s elements of performance (EP) for standard EM.02.01.01, hospitals must comply in the following ways

Ask any healthcare executive to name the biggest issue that will demand their attention in 2022, and the response will be staffing shortages and their impact on patient safety. Those focused on improving care quality might consider how key trends will play out and the impact of current industry challenges on their healthcare ecosystem.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a great many things for healthcare, but it may have a particularly lasting impact on infection prevention programs. As the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology commented in a statement, “The pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship programs through additional personnel, resources, and training. These investments will support standard infection prevention and patient safety efforts while ensuring the capacity to prepare for future pandemics across the spectrum of healthcare.

The Supreme Court of Arkansas (the "Court") recently affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a discrimination complaint filed against a hospital by a former employee who was terminated for failing to comply with the hospital's influenza vaccination policy.

The terminated employee, Ann Jenkins, sued Mercy Hospital Rogers, a Catholic Church–affiliated medical facility, alleging fraud, wrongful termination, and violation of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act (ACRA).

Fire drills are required by the Life Safety Code® and serve as part of any strong fire safety training program. And virtual reality (VR) is popping up on the radar of healthcare facilities as a viable component of training programs.

New York is the newest state to grant nurse practitioners (NP) full practice authority, joining 24 other states and Washington, D.C.