Physicians and patient advocates allege a significant decline in medical care occurred at Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center — which closed in October 2017 — while under Healthcare Conglomerate Associates' control. Critics believe this care decline resulted in the endangerment and deaths of patients, according to The Business Journal.  By Megan Knowles - 5/16/18

Upon admission to a hospital, 30 percent to 50 percent of patients are already malnourished. During a hospital stay, many normally nourished patients experience a decline.  By Megan Wood - 5/16/18

Approximately 1.5 million people in the U.S. get sepsis each year, and 250,000 Americans die from sepsis annually.1 Patients with severe sepsis can develop septic shock, which is a significantly dangerous drop in blood pressure (hypotension) causing compromised blood flow to critical organs and can kill patients within hours. Deaths associated with sepsis and septic shock could be drastically reduced if healthcare providers appropriately detect the complication and intervene early on. By Laura Dyrda - 5/16/18

Hepatitis C treatment experts are recommending a revised pricing strategy implemented at the state level that could help a greater number of affected patients access the treatment, according to a report published in Annals of Internal Medicine.  By Megan Knowles - 5/16/18

Researchers at Atlanta-based Emory University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston are launching two studies to test a treatment that could potentially cure the No. 1 cause of death in American hospitals — sepsis, NPR reports.  By Megan Knowles - 5/16/18

A multistate salmonella outbreak, which lead to a recall of nearly 207 million eggs produced by Rose Acre Farms, has sickened 35 people on the East Coast, The Washington Post reports.  By Alia Paavola - 5/15/18

Individual professional perceptions and practices as well as organizational characteristics are linked to the sustainability of evidence-based falls prevention practices, according to a study published in the American Journal of Nursing.  By Anuja Vaidya - 5/15/18

Boston Medical Center researchers examined the care transition values that are most important to patients and caregivers. They published their findings in the Annals of Family Medicine.  By Anuja Vaidya - 5/15/18

Low income, mental health diagnosis and involvement with the justice system can negatively affect the quality of care patients receive, a study published in Annals of Family Medicine has found.  By Megan Knowles - 5/15/18

As the number of confirmed Ebola cases rises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, has requested to use an experimental vaccine being developed by pharmaceutical company Merck to treat patients at risk for Ebola, according to STAT.  By Megan Knowles - 5/15/18

The CDC confirmed 14 cases of bloodstream infections in children across four U.S. states that may be connected to heparin and saline syringes distributed by medical technology company Becton Dickinson and Co., according to Reuters.  By Megan Knowles - 5/14/18

Nurses play a crucial part in patient care. However, many hospital boards view nursing as a cost, rather than a revenue generator, which can downplay the true value of nurses, retired nurse Kathleen Kaufman, RN, wrote in an op-ed for The Salt Lake Tribune.  By Mackenzie Bean - 5/14/18

A study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology examined if antibiotics are a risk factor for nephrolithiasis, the process by which kidney stones are formed.  By Anuja Vaidya - 5/14/18

Last week, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared a new Ebola virus disease outbreak, confirming two laboratory-tested cases. That number has now increased to 39, the World Health Organization reports.  By Anuja Vaidya - 5/14/18

U.S. influenza activity decreased for the fifth week in a row, but the CDC expects sporadic flu activity to continue for several more weeks, according to the agency's most recent FluView report.  By Mackenzie Bean - 5/14/18

A second lawsuit has been filed against Puyallup, Wash.-based MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital over a possible exposure of hepatitis C linked to the hospital that may have exposed approximately 2,600 patients to the infection, according to The News Tribune.  By Alyssa Rege - 5/14/18

A screening program developed to prevent the Zika virus from reaching the Red Cross' blood supply, which costs around $137 million to operate annually, only detected eight units that tested positive for Zika between June 2016 and September 2017, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.  By Megan Knowles - 5/11/18

To reduce high rates of adverse events in the emergency department, emergency physicians may look to systematic cross-checking to reduce the risk of patient harm, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.  By Megan Knowles - 5/11/18

As hospitals across the U.S. face a nursing shortage, care quality and patient safety continue to be put in jeopardy. Nurses are frequently assigned more patients, with 90 percent of nurses admitting they lack adequate time to properly comfort and assist patients, according to a survey of Massachusetts nurses conducted by Anderson Robbins Research.  By Megan Knowles - 5/11/18

The Children's Hospital Associated awarded four hospitals across the U.S. with the Pediatric Quality Award, which recognizes hospitals for improving health outcomes. Yale New Haven (Conn.) Children's Hospital was named the overall winner.  By Megan Knowles - 5/11/18