Just leaving this here in case anyone in emergency preparedness wants to know or needs a refresher: The HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR) Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) has an extensive collection on radiological and nuclear incidents.

Healthcare organizations are finding that an effective patient engagement strategy involves more than just opening a patient portal. A good platform not only gives consumers access to health system services and resources, but allows them to access those services on the device and at the time and place of their choosing—all without overwhelming either the consumer or the provider with unnecessary steps or tasks.

“It has to separate the signal from the noise,” says John Lock, chief transformation officer for MedStar Health, which launched a new patient experience platform designed by b.well Connected Health this past January. The Maryland-based health system, he says, has a strategy in place to “get you to the right care at the right time and on the right modality.”

That’s not as easy as it seems.

Demographic characteristics, preexisting comorbidities, and vital sign and laboratory values at the time of hospitalization indicate which children with COVID-19 are at higher risk of severe illness, a recent research article shows.

In general with COVID-19, children experience milder symptoms than adults. However, COVID-19 can advance to severe illness in children, with outcomes including death and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

Mac's Safety Space

A few weeks ago, the good folks at CMS revised their take on how they were going to be surveying organizations relative to their handling of COVID-19 as a specific focus. Much as the adoption of emerging infectious diseases (EID) preparedness has resulted in a broadening of expectations, the management of EIDs in general, inclusive of COVID-19, will be the marching orders for surveyors.

Medical Environment Update

Pete picked up a rack of specimens that needed to be delivered to the serology lab across the hall. He wore gloves because he was handling specimens, and he pushed the lab exit door open using the knob. He walked across the hallway in his PPE, and he opened the door to the serology lab to deliver the specimens. Minutes later, Angie washed her hands at the lab sink and exited the department using the same doorknob Pete used. 

Healthcare Life Safety Compliance

Here’s a telling statistic that hits home: Two to three nurses at Massachusetts General Hospital are assaulted on any given day. Nurses at the Boston hospital contend with shoves, kicks, and verbal harassment daily, according to an October 2021 report from WBUR.

That hospital in the Bay State is not alone. Just two months earlier, a nurse at Lowell General Hospital in Massachusetts was hit twice in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher. The assailant went after another nurse before a security guard tackled him. The nurse suffered a brain bleed.

Patient Safety Monitor Journal

What does it mean for a patient to have a rare disease? It means an average of five years before getting a correct diagnosis. It means consultations with over seven clinicians to reach an accurate diagnosis. It means a great deal of money, struggle, and physical and mental suffering. And at the end of it all, it often means finding out there’s no treatment available for your condition.

A rare disease is a condition that impacts fewer than 200,000 people annually. While the term “rare” gives the impression that very few patients are impacted, that’s not the case. In the U.S. there are approximately 7,000 rare diseases, including Huntington’s disease, spina bifida, fragile X syndrome, Guillain-Barré syndrome, Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

One of the hardest parts of being a facilities manager can be keeping track of policies, procedures, logs, maintenance, equipment checks, and other documents that can mean the difference between a successful survey and a difficult plan of correction.

Inside Accreditation & Quality

The Joint Commission (TJC) surveyors have been true to their promise to begin surveying to the new COVID-19 vaccine requirement as soon as it became effective, and hospitals are already being scored for noncompliance.

Understand who is supposed to be vaccinated and when, and establish a way to securely track and update your list of vaccinated staff as you anticipate surveyors from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) or other accrediting organizations (AO).