See Who Made This Year’s List of Best Hospitals
There was no surprise when it came to first place on this year’s “Best Hospitals” list from U.S. News & World Report. For the seventh consecutive year, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., clocked in at No. 1 on the Honor Roll of the 20 institutions ranked as “delivering exceptional treatment across many areas of care,” […]
What Will Ensure Rural Hospitals’ Survival? More $$ and Good Broadband, Experts Say
What do rural hospitals need from Congress and state legislatures to survive, besides more money? The answer is — more money, several experts and hospital lobbyists said Wednesday during a webinar sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center. Asked that question, George Pink, PhD, deputy director of the Rural Health Research Program at the University of […]
Opinion | It’s Time for a Post-Mortem on COVID Crisis Standards of Care
Ever since the threat of an avian flu pandemic in 2006, governments, hospitals, and professional associations have been preparing for the next “big one.” New York State was a leader in pandemic preparation, having developed its Ventilator Allocation Guidelines in 2007, with updates in 2015. And yet, when the COVID tsunami hit New York City […]
200 Rural Hospitals At Risk of Closing in the Next Few Years, Study Finds
Hundreds of rural hospitals are at risk of closing in the coming years, according to a new study, and the reason may be surprising. “In general, the major cause for the losses at the smallest hospitals were private payers,” study author Harold Miller, MS, president and CEO of the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment […]
Maternal Health, Equity Key Factors in Proposed CMS Rule for Hospitals
In a new proposed payment rule for inpatient and long-term hospitals, CMS suggested the establishment of a “birthing-friendly” hospital designation in an effort to promote better health outcomes among mothers. In addition to addressing the nation’s maternal health crisis, the proposed rule includes three equity-focused measures as a way to improve care among underserved and […]
Kansas State Senator Implies Bill on Controversial COVID Therapies Passed
In a letter sent to hospitals and healthcare clinics earlier this week, Mark Steffen, MD, a state senator from Kansas, seemed to suggest a bill that would remove restrictions on the use of treatments like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 had already passed. “With the recent passage of Senate substitute for HB 2280 … there […]
Alaska Starts Rationing Care; Remdesivir for Outpatients? New GVHD Drug OK’d
Note that some links may require registration or subscription. With Alaska hospitals crippled by the overwhelming number of COVID patients, the state has adopted crisis standards of care, Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) announced on Wednesday. (Reuters) Gilead said a 3-day intravenous course of its antiviral drug remdesivir (Veklury) reduced the risk of hospitalization or death […]
More Than a Nursing Shortage: A ‘Skills Gap’, Too
During the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have closed beds, shut down elective surgeries, and called in federal assistance due to a shortage of a critical healthcare resource — nurses. Shortages of nurses and other healthcare workers are plaguing hospitals throughout the U.S., especially those in COVID hotspots. Mississippi has 2,000 fewer nurses […]
2020 Was Not a Good Year for Infection Control
Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) in acute care hospitals soared during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, potentially erasing years of progress in combating these infections, researchers said. Significant increases in the national standardized infection ratios for central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated events, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia were noted in 2020 over […]
More than one in ten COVID-19 patients infected in hospital in UK’s first pandemic wave, study finds
More than one in ten COVID-19 patients in 314 UK hospitals caught the infection in hospital during the first pandemic wave say researchers conducting the world’s largest study of severe COVID-19. The research into hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) was led by Dr Jonathan Read from Lancaster University with colleagues from other UK universities including the Universities […]