Scientists say nurses like Sunny Vespico are prime examples of what nursing schools and hospitals are doing wrong: They keep teaching nursing employees how to lift and move patients in ways that could inadvertently result in career-ending back injuries. Vespico, a registered nurse, was working the night shift in the intensive care unit at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia on March 31, 2012. At roughly 12:30 a.m., a large patient was having trouble breathing, so Vespico and a nursing assistant moved her to a special air bed designed for patients with respiratory problems.
Mobile stroke units debuted in two U.S. cities during the past year, and already they are saving critical minutes when it comes to treating stroke patients, according to a pair of studies released Wednesday. The mobile units, each of which resemble an ordinary ambulance and cost about $1 million, are essentially specialized emergency rooms on wheels. They include unique equipment, such as a portable CT scanner to help determine what type of stroke a patient is experiencing and how best to treat it. They also include lab testing equipment and clot-busting drugs that can greatly improve the prognosis for patients who receive them soon after the onset of symptoms.
One Boston hospital administrator called it a crisis: Surgeries canceled because there weren't enough beds, taxis hired to ferry patients who had no other way home. At another hospital, stockpiles of linens were running so perilously low that staff began rationing them. Meanwhile, still other hospitals were forced to rely on the generosity of Boston police officers to deliver essential staff members to work. With snow piled up to historic levels, and the region's subways and commuter rail systems halted Tuesday, administrators labored to keep their hospital doors open, hobbled by a stranded workforce and patients unable to get home.
Ascension, which operates the nation's largest Catholic health care system, will set aside $20 million from its upcoming sale of two Kansas City hospitals, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced Wednesday. The agreement comes after Koster raised concerns about the sale and its potential impact on low-income individuals, typically a focus for nonprofit hospitals. By law, the attorney general must be notified when a nonprofit plans to sell its assets, according to Koster's statement. Carondelet Health, acquired by Ascension in 2002, informed Koster's office of the sale to Prime Healthcare Services on Oct. 20, 2014.
The robot, I'm told, is on its way. Any minute now you'll see it. We can track them, you know. There's quite a few of them, so it's only a matter of time. Any minute now. Ah, and here it is. Far down the hospital hall, double doors part to reveal the automaton. There's no dramatic fog or lighting—which I jot down as "disappointing"—only a white, rectangular machine about four feet tall. It waits for the doors to fully part, then cautiously begins to roll toward us, going about as fast as a casual walk, emitting a soft beep every so often to let the humans around it know it's on a very important quest.
Deaths due to smoking increased by 17% with the inclusion of multiple diseases that do not have established relationships with cigarette smoking, data from five large cohort studies showed.