The Joint Commission is working to change the way unprofessional issues are communicated between nurses using a report system and trained peer messengers.

When it comes to nursing staff, healthcare organizations are experiencing a perfect storm.

The American Nurses Association welcomed Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, as its new president Jan. 1.

Penn Medicine aims to increase the pipeline of future nurses in Philadelphia through a new program that offers education and employment opportunities for high school and college students interested in nursing, the organization said Jan. 3.

In one week, the prevalence of XBB.1.5 — an offshoot of omicron subvariant XBB — more than doubled in the U.S., according to the latest CDC estimates. 

The following chief medical officer executive moves were reported by Becker's in 2022:

Severe strep A infections are on the rise in children, leading to a rise in other diseases associated with strep A, which could include flesh-eating bacteria.

As flu activity continues its descent from an unusually early and strong season, the past week saw a flu hospitalization rate four times higher than the same week each year since 2010, according to the CDC's FluView report. 

A "startling" surge in diabetes diagnoses among American youth is predicted by 2060, according to a Dec. 29 CDC report.

Less than 25 percent of neonatal intensive care units across the U.S. screen for universal social determinants of health, according to a study published Nov. 1 in Hospital Pediatrics.

The Leapfrog Group has proposed several updates its 2023 hospital survey to ensure it aligns with current science and addresses the needs of consumers and purchasers.

COVID-19 hospitalizations appear to be leveling off in the U.S. after a steady month of growth, though it's still unclear how the holiday season may affect this trend.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth to get the medical services they need, and nurses and home health aides will be trained in specific ways they can provide such healthcare.

Threats and attacks toward nurses and other healthcare workers have become commonplace. In response, the medical community has issued growing calls to Congress to pass legislation to mitigate workplace violence against healthcare workers. 

Basic HIPAA training and adhering to their hospital's own privacy compliance guidelines may not be enough to ensure nurses are consistently compliant, suggests a Dec. 27 HIPAA Journal report.

With an eye on increasing Pennsylvania's nursing workforce, Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger College of Health Sciences will use a $2.5 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant to renovate its School of Nursing in Lewistown, Pa. This plan, according to a Dec. 23 release from Geisinger, will allow the school to enroll twice as many nursing students.

Below are eight hospitals, health systems or hospital operators that recently posted job listings seeking chief nursing officers. 

Beginning Jan. 5, travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau will be required to test negative for COVID-19 before boarding flights headed to the U.S., the CDC said in a Dec. 28 announcement. The move comes as concern mounts over a growing surge of cases in China. 

Research scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine developed a blood test to successfully detect a biomarker specific to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in Brain Dec. 27. 

The number of traveling nurses boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now many find their wages slashed to 50 percent or less upon renewal. Traveling nurses are fighting back with lawsuits claiming the companies are using "bait-and-switch" tactics, NBC News reported Dec. 28.