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RSV Vaccine for Older Patients Receives Support
FDA approved Arexvy to protect people age 60 years and older against the respiratory syncytial virus.
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EPA Moving to Reduce Cancer Risk to HCWs Exposed to EtO Sterilant
Ethylene oxide (EtO) is used on approximately 50% of all sterilized medical devices annually, including an estimated 95% of all surgical kits. EtO can sterilize heat- or moisture-sensitive medical equipment without causing any damage. Proposed regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency are designed to sharply reduce worker exposures to EtO sterilant and prevent occupational cancer.
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The Vanishing Nurse: Staff, Patients in Peril
Around 1 million nurses may leave the field in the next few years, leaving the perennial “most trusted” profession absent at the bedside. The exodus was triggered by a pandemic, entrenched by a haphazard response, and then revealed in demographics that indicate the old are retiring and the young are leaving early.
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CDC: Be Wary of Travelers From African Outbreaks
Marburg virus has caused outbreaks in two African nations, and healthcare workers should be aware of travel history for incoming patients with classic hemorrhagic fever symptoms.
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Healthcare Workers Not Likely Infected, Colonized with C. auris
Recent reports highlighting the continuing increase and geographic spread of Candida auris — a multidrug-resistant fungus that is moving between healthcare facilities — have raised the question of whether healthcare workers could be infected or colonized with the emerging pathogen. It is highly unlikely, but the risk is not zero.
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The Importance of the Physician Advisor
The physician advisor role has been evolving over the last couple of decades. Case managers are discovering their relationships with these clinicians can be incredibly valuable when made a priority.
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Embarking on Case Management Research
As case managers go about their days, they are constantly discovering and solving problems, often without even realizing it. Part of the role is to troubleshoot issues with discharge, utilization management, and more — but once the issue is resolved, that often is the end of it. However, when case managers seek solutions for their problems, they are engaging in research.
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Reservation Program Saves Beds, Prevents Readmissions
A health system tackled the challenges of transitioning patients to SNFs through a relationship with a multisite SNF. Together, the organizations created a bed reservation program, which results in a smoother and more effective transition process.
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Discharge Navigators Facilitate More Efficient Transitions
SNF beds were limited in one hospital’s region, even before the COVID-19 pandemic decimated nursing home staffing across the United States. ECU Health’s solution has been to assign a discharge navigator to work on obtaining authorizations for transferring patients to SNFs. Instead of waiting for the SNF to obtain authorization for a particular patient, the discharge navigator handles this task.
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Standardized Process for SNF Transitions Helps Prevent Readmissions
Using Lean methodology, Monument Health in Rapid City, SD, created a care transition process that reduces excess hospital days, prevents readmissions, and shortens the time it takes from discharge order to the patient leaving the hospital.