Fourteen hospitals and health systems have been designated by the Infectious Diseases Society of America as top antimicrobial stewardship centers.

Every U.S. household is again eligible to order four free COVID-19 tests from the federal government beginning Nov. 20, according to COVIDTests.gov — one of the few remaining places to request the free rapid tests.

Researchers from Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health have discovered that an injection of anesthetic to specific nerves in the neck may be able to improve loss of smell and taste associated with long COVID.

Seven states and Washington, D.C., are seeing high levels of respiratory virus activity heading into Thanksgiving week, according to the latest CDC data. 

Authorities are investigating a shooting at Concord-based New Hampshire State Hospital that left two people dead Nov. 17.

Ambulance deserts affect at least 4.5 million people, and more are likely to appear as the EMS industry decays in rural communities, The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 16. 

Flu activity continues to increase across the U.S., according to the latest CDC data. For the week ending Nov. 11, 2,721 patients with laboratory-confirmed flu cases were admitted to a hospital — up from 1,962 the week prior. 

A recent study found patients who utilized telehealth visits had lower rates of follow-up care completion.

About 22 million children who were eligible for measles vaccinations in 2022 did not receive them, according to a joint report from the CDC and the World Health Organization, published Nov. 17. Not only has it left a large population of children susceptible to infection and outbreaks — risk of death is also rising.

After multiple nurses have been charged and imprisoned for administering fatal amounts of insulin, it's clear there's a lack of regulation in hospitals and nursing homes, the Winston-Salem Journal reported Nov. 16.

The idea that nursing is not a career but a calling is "false and misleading" and may be an underlying cause of burnout and compassion fatigue in the field, Keith Carlson, BSN, RN, wrote in an opinion piece published on Daily Nurse.

Last month, the FDA warned hospitals to stop giving probiotics to preterm infants following the death of a baby that was linked to the products. Now, some physicians are concerned that a lack of access to the products will subject premature infants to a severe gut disease, The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 16. 

For the second year straight, March of Dimes has given the U.S. a "D+" for its high preterm birth rate, according to the group's annual report card on maternal and infant health. 

Nearly 14% of the nation's adult population — about 35 million people — have received the new COVID-19 shot, according to updated estimates from the CDC. 

The FDA and CDC are working to deploy more Beyfortus doses as its maker underestimated demand for the first respiratory syncytial virus drug approved for children. 

Stress, burnout and frustration in the workplace have resulted in workforce trends such as "quiet quitting" and "rage applying," and hospitals are taking aim at the issues that give rise to these movements.

The World Health Organization is elevating loneliness as a "pressing health threat" and organizing leadership to drive evidence-based solutions at a global level.

A Texas nurse became the first Black woman to be inducted into the Academy of Emergency Nurses, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Nov. 16.

On Nov. 16, HHS launched an advisory committee on long COVID, a condition that studies have found affects 1 in 10 COVID-19 patients. 

The American Association of Physician Associates is still in the early stages of a sweeping effort to rebrand the PA profession — and sunset the title "physician assistant" — but hopes to make important strides in 2024, AAPA CEO Lisa Gables told Becker's.