The pediatric mental health crisis is the most pressing patient safety concern in 2023, the Emergency Care Research Institute said March 13. 

After historic declines of the virus, cases of the highly infectious strain of group A Streptococcus spiked in the fall of 2022, drawing concern from experts. Now, the CDC says the flu vaccine may reduce the risk for strep A.

The omicron variant is less likely to cause long COVID-19 compared to the coronavirus's original strain, according to a Swiss study of 1,201 healthcare workers. 

The Defense Department is funding animal research to study whether radio frequency waves could cause symptoms consistent with "Havana syndrome," a mysterious illness that has afflicted hundreds of U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers, Politico reported March 9.

Four people are alive after a medical transport helicopter on its way to an Erlanger Health System location crashed on a road in North Carolina on March 9. 

Just weeks ago, Santa Clara Valley Healthcare in San Jose, Calif., was at risk of losing Medicare reimbursements due to patient safety concerns. Now, after an investigation by the California Department of Public Health, the health system is reportedly back in compliance. 

A new viral TikTok drinking challenge dubbed "blackout rage gallons" — "borg" for short — led to the hospitalization of 46 University of Massachusetts students in Boston, CBS News reported. 

A large new study published in Nature Communications found COVID-19 patients are much more likely to experience gastrointestinal problems a year after infection than those who haven't had COVID-19. 

U.K. researchers found adults who had a lower respiratory tract infection before age 2 are at higher risk of dying prematurely from respiratory disease.

The Washington State Nurses Association says that staffing changes made by Wenatchee, Wash.-based Confluence Health in December 2022 "lowered the quality of care" for patients. 

Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital opened a newly renovated burn center that includes a specialized intensive care unit on March 6. 

Seeking to reduce the incidence of critical events in high-risk patients, the NAPA Anesthesia Patient Safety Institute (NAPSI)—NAPA’s certified Patient Safety Organization (PSO)—conducted a systemwide review of NAPA’s adverse events data. NAPA maintains one of the nation’s largest anesthesia clinical outcomes databases, comprising data from more than 2 million patients each year served by NAPA’s nearly 5,000 clinicians.  As one of roughly 100 PSOs federally certified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, NAPSI is approved to use clinical outcomes data for analysis and performance improvement activities.

More than half of California's inpatient beds are located within less than a mile of high fire danger areas, a new study revealed.

HCA Florida Northwest Hospital in Margate announced Feb. 23 that it is the first in Broward County to offer robotic technology for minimally invasive hysterectomies.

A Wisconsin man drowned after fleeing the hospital, NewsBreak reported March 1.

Forty-two health systems are aiming to accelerate the healthcare industry's adoption of evidence-based clinical research through a $50M initiative backed by The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

A new U.S. intelligence report has determined that "Havana syndrome," a mysterious illness first identified in 2016, was not caused by the actions of a foreign adversary, The Washington Post reported March 1. 

As at least nine other states plan to restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Mississippi's governor on Feb. 28 signed a bill into law to penalize physicians who perform gender-affirming surgeries or write prescriptions for puberty blockers or hormones to a minor. 

Building a strong foundation for safe and equitable care is no easy task, especially amid pandemic-related disruptions and workforce shortages. But Keck Medicine of USC is clearly doing something right — Keck Hospital of USC is a seven-time Leapfrog "A" safety grade awardee, and USC Norris Cancer Hospital was recently named one of Leapfrog's top teaching hospitals for the second consecutive year. 

Unsafe placement of patients, double use of rooms and emergency room hallways crowded with patient beds are among the complaints cited by University of California Los Angeles nurses who are set to protest the conditions March 1.