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The latest stories from AHA Today.

On Jan. 21, medical device manufacturer Cardinal Health recalled specific production lots of several types of single-sterile and bulk non-sterile surgical gowns in response to concerns about their potential contamination. The company says the gowns were manufactured at facilities that did not…
Citing Florence Nightingale’s admonition to “do the sick no harm,” an executive patient safety officer at Matheny Hospital in Peapack, N.J., recommends focusing on six principles as hospitals strive to eliminate preventable harm. He advocates for a systems approach to reaching high reliability,…
After reviewing its National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs), the Joint Commission has approved moving requirements for the following NPSGs to its accreditation standards: Transfusion errors related to patient misidentification; multidrug-resistant organisms; central line-associated bloodstream…
The American Hospital Association (AHA) Institute for Diversity and Health Equity is accepting nominations through Feb. 25 for its 2020 Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award. This honor recognizes AHA member hospitals and health systems for their efforts to advance diversity, inclusion and…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed the first U.S. case of 2019 novel coronavirus, which was first detected in China in December. The patient recently returned to Washington state from Wuhan, the site of the Chinese outbreak. The CDC is working with state officials…
In response to a request for feedback on scope of practice issues, the Nursing Community Coalition (NCC) wrote to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma to support Section 5 of President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors…
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released the results of its 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN), filling a decade-long gap in federally gathered nursing workforce data. From 1977 until 2008, the NSSRN provided the most comprehensive data set on…
The Joint Commission is taking steps to help hospitals combat the problems of nurse stress and burnout. Last year, the accrediting agency conducted a national survey of nurse engagement. Fifteen percent of nurses reported feelings of burnout, which the commission considers to be a leading patient…
In partnership with the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), AONL has released a report to help health care organizations achieve an evidence-based allocation of their nursing resources. The Business of Caring: Promoting Optimal Allocation of…
In 2016, about 30% of the more than 14,000 women who gave birth at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, a Magnet hospital in Orlando, Fla., breastfed their babies exclusively at the time of discharge. By 2019, that number was 57%. The hospital credits frontline nurses, who all learned how…