Hospital Management
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Care Transitions Are Trickier Than Ever as Pandemic Wreaks Havoc
The bottleneck of patients many health systems experienced in early winter was created by a perfect storm of these problems: too few employees, too many patients sick with the omicron variant, and too many ambulatory settings also experiencing staffing problems. -
Infection Prevention Tips for Omicron Variant
As omicron swept through the nation, creating chaos at hospitals, the Infectious Diseases Society of America made four major suggestions for how organizations and individuals can prevent infection and serious illness. -
Study Results Reveal How Hospitals Handled COVID-19’s First Wave
Healthcare systems’ responses to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic varied, but most canceled elective procedures to preserve ICU capacity and adapted staffing and physical space to prepare for patient surges, according to the results of a recent study. -
Omicron Created Problems of Too Few Staff, Too Many Patients, Too Much Distress
After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare leaders know how to react and prepare. But with omicron, the earlier lessons learned were not enough to prevent patient surges and staffing shortages. -
Family Violence Implicated in Injury-Related ED Visits
ED-based efforts to screen and intervene can be critical to preventing future violence. This is important not only for family and peer violence, but also for contributory factors — mainly, access to alcohol, drugs, and weapons. In addition to obtaining thorough patient and family interviews, using standardized instruments to screen for these factors can help identify youth at risk, and link them to appropriate interventions and care.
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Dangerously Understaffed EDs Can Legally Expose Hospital
If litigation occurs, providers are better served by testifying honestly about staffing levels and the ED’s capacity while avoiding opinions on how these factors affected their ability to provide adequate care.
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Palliative Care Guidelines Call for Equipping Frontline Providers to Meet Growing Need
As the U.S. population ages, there is a growing need for clinicians skilled in primary palliative care. Such skills include the ability to assess for need, engage in advance care planning discussions, and provide appropriate care for symptom management that aligns with patients’ wishes. Considering the volume of patients who access care through EDs annually, experts note emergency clinicians often are in position to provide primary palliative care to those with serious or life-threatening conditions.
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A More Effective Approach for Managing Behavioral Health Emergencies
Often, law enforcement officers and EMS crews are dispatched to the scenes of behavioral health emergencies. EMS might transport these patients to the ED. Others might be taken to jail. But in recent years, stakeholders in Dallas have looked closer at these scenarios. At a time when resources are stretched thin, hospital staff, police officers, and communities all are asking questions.
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Sick Healthcare Workers Worsen Shortage, May Spike Healthcare-Associated Infections
The COVID-19 omicron variant, known to cause breakthrough infections in those fully vaccinated and boosted, is infecting and furloughing healthcare workers even as hospitals face a towering wave of incoming patients.
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Neurology Groups Update Position on Stroke and Informed Consent
Experts provide updated ethical guidance on decision-making capacity, emergency treatment, and clinical research.