Following the August wildfires that decimated parts of Maui, the state's department of health issued a new warning Oct. 15 urging the public residents and visitors to avoid contact with toxic ash remnants. 

A study found patients who receive sedation from an anesthesiologist, instead of a physician who is not a trained anesthesiologist, are nearly 70% more likely to be discharged home than to a long-term care facility.

A lack of emergency blood transfusions is a national crisis "fueling" preventable deaths, three physicians wrote in a JAMA opinion piece Oct. 12.

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health has reduced nurse turnover by 20% with its UNC Health for Me program.

New weekly COVID-19 admissions are down for the fourth week straight, according to the latest data from the CDC. Meanwhile, flu and respiratory syncytial virus are starting to rise. 

Heart disease, cancer and COVID-19 were responsible for nearly half of U.S. deaths in 2021, according to a report by USA Facts, a nonprofit organization that conducts data analysis.

Milton, Mass.-based Labouré College of Healthcare narrowly avoided a July vote that would have shut down its nursing program, but the school was given until Oct. 11 to produce an update on its efforts to correct regulatory deficiencies and remain in operation. 

Here are eight health systems and hospitals in the U.S. currently seeking chief nursing officers.

Salt Lake City-based University of Utah has cut the ribbon on its new population health clinic, which it hopes will improve patient outcomes, identify unmet care needs and lower the overall cost of care, according to an Oct. 12 news release.

The U.S. is cracking down on hospitals to improve sepsis care. A rule finalized in August by CMS and the Biden administration will give health systems until 2026 to comply with the new standards. In the meantime, researchers are pushing ahead with techniques and tools aimed at improving outcomes. 

Code Lavender, escape rooms, professional development and flexible scheduling are just some of the nurse initiatives top hospitals are implementing to create an excellent nurse workplace.

The American Academy of Neurology recently updated the guidelines for determining brain death in adult and pediatric patients.

Falls are the most common sentinel event resulting in harm or death of hospital patients so far in 2023, according to data from The Joint Commission. 

Four in 10 adults with a disability reported experiencing unfair healthcare treatment, an Urban Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report found.

So far in 2023, The Joint Commission has issued a total of six sentinel alerts and safety advisories.

Amid a shortage of nurses, California is turning to retirees to fill the gap. 

The FDA issued an alert Oct. 10 to healthcare providers about dangers associated with treating psychiatric disorders with ketamine.

Health experts are betting on a collection of vaccines and a monoclonal antibody to prevent severe illness and minimize capacity strain on hospitals from flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus this respiratory virus season. However, hurdles in accessing the shots may prevent those most at risk for severe illness from getting vaccinated before virus season is in full swing. 

The American Nurses Association-Michigan released a letter opposing state legislation that would mandate patient ratios for hospital nurses.

Researchers at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and University of Oxford in England have created an AI tool to forecast which COVID-19 strains will grow in dominance, according to an Oct. 11 article in Nature.