CMS Offers Strategies for Mitigating Behavioral Health Challenges During a Pandemic
The Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) memo QSO-21-07-Psych Hospital, PRTF & ICF/IID, “COVID-19 Infection Control for Psychiatric and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs/IID),” was sent to CMS regional offices and state agencies on December 17, 2020.
3 Strategies for Combating Nurse Burnout During and After the Pandemic
Before the pandemic, departments were already struggling with staff shortages. In fact, according to an article published in 2018 in the American Journal of Medical Quality, the country is forecast to have a shortage of more than half a million registered nurses by 2030. Now, as the pandemic stretches on, a growing number of nurses are being exposed to the virus, requiring time away from work to quarantine.
ASTM Developing Nonregulatory Standard for Face Masks
The ASTM standard, which would create minimum design, performance, and labeling and care requirements for face coverings, is being developed by the subcommittee on respiratory protection at ASTM. ASTM is targeting a February 2021 approval for the standard, Daniel Smith, vice president of technical committee operations said in an e-mail.
POLST Effective in the Nursing Facility Setting, Study Finds
Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms are available across the country. Compared to living wills and durable power of attorney documents, POLST forms have been associated with significantly higher decreased odds of resuscitation attempts in the field and increased odds of out-of-hospital death for patients with “comfort measures only” directives.
DNV GL: CMS Allows Some Remote Reaccreditation Surveys
DNV is also required to do another full reaccreditation survey onsite within nine months of the end of the PHE, said the announcement. Expect The Joint Commission and HFAP to follow suit as they work out details with CMS. However, the CEO for the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality said his AO was unlikely to change its current survey process.
PSQH: The Podcast Episode 18 – Using Lean Management to Improve IV Therapy
On episode 18 of PSQH: The Podcast, host Jay Kumar talks to Lee Steere of Hartford Hospital about how the hospital transformed its infusion therapy practices.
ECRI Provides Lessons Learned on COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
The vaccines are extremely sensitive to temperature. In addition, they will come in multi-dose vials that must be diluted and then slowly mixed by inverting the bottle back and forth, according to manufacturer’s instructions.
NIOSH Says FFRs with Exhalation Valves Just as Effective at Control of Disease Sources
NIOSH confirmed that approved FFRs like N95 respirators protect the wearer, filtering particle penetration to less than 5%. The report, “Filtering Facepiece Respirators with an Exhalation Valve: Measurements of Filtration Efficiency to Evaluate Their Potential for Source Control” (NIOSH Publication No. 2021-107), also confirmed that an FFR with an exhalation valve provided the same source control as commonly used measures like surgical masks, procedure masks, and cloth face coverings.
Hospitals Scramble to Prioritize Which Workers Are First for COVID Shots
Even as the federal Food and Drug Administration engaged in intense deliberations ahead of Friday’s authorization of the Pfizer and BioNTech COVID vaccine, and days before the initial 6.4 million doses were to be released, hospitals across the country have been grappling with how to distribute the first scarce shots.
EVS Training and Certification are Essential to Healthcare’s Mission
By: Hagan Kappler Modern healthcare is based on two important principles originally ascribed to Hippocrates: help the sick and abstain from doing harm. Physicians are sworn to these ideals. Nurses and others in healthcare promise the same. These goals are certainly true for Environmental Services directors and staff. They serve on the frontline of infection … Continued