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. 

The risk of a Paxlovid rebound may be higher than previously reported, according to a study published Feb. 22 in Clinical Infectious Diseases, an Oxford University Press journal. 

Good Samaritan University Hospital in West Islip, N.Y., has fired a nurse who appears to have roughly handled a newborn baby on a video filmed by the child's father, according to a report from News12 New Jersey. 

Pennsylvania health officials have cited Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital for several safety issues in recent months, including a wrong-site surgery, Penn Live reported Feb. 23.

Another person has been cured of HIV, according to findings published Feb. 20 in Nature. 

Navigating nationwide staffing shortages while maintaining quality of care are just two of the many mounting challenges chief medical officers face, and seek to overcome, right now. 

Medtronic representatives are being accused of unethically persuading physicians to use its devices in procedures even when not medically necessary — something that research shows can be harmful to patients.

SARS-CoV-2 omicron infections are more likely to result in death than the flu inside hospitals, a study in Switzerland found. 

A surgical recovery program implemented by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has so far shown a reduction in length of hospital stays by two days and a 44 percent decrease in opioid usage.

Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic is leading an effort in the city alongside first responders to assess whether patients who do not respond to shock treatments during cardiac arrest outside the hospital are candidates for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO.

Cedars-Sinai researchers have confirmed a link between COVID-19 infections and a heightened risk for developing diabetes, according to a Feb. 14 press release.

Homelessness was declared a public health crisis by the American Public Health Association in 2017, but it remains a difficult, complex issue for cities and counties across the country to aid. Now, as part of new guidance in an effort to address the issue, New York City healthcare workers are receiving updated training to assist with intervening to bring homeless individuals in crisis into medical facilities for treatment.

Enhancing patient experiences and improving outcomes is something that often reaches beyond the four walls of their hospital room into hallways, parking lots and, ultimately, their community. When patients do better, so do the facilities that serve them — that is the impetus behind a new partnership between Aramark Healthcare+ and Healthcare Plus Solutions Group.

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses selected 185 hospital units nationwide as the winners of its 2022 Beacon Award for Excellence, the organization said Feb. 9.

Although rare, surgical tools or items are unintentionally left inside a patient in about 1,500 out of 28 million surgery operations each year in the U.S., which can result in significant harm. As part of a national workgroup effort, 114 healthcare facilities participated in evidence-based research to identify the best ways to reduce instances of retained surgical items in patient procedures.

North Carolina has been the site of several mass shootings throughout the last several years, and Atrium Health, one of the state's largest health systems, has in turn seen an increase in the number of gunshot victims. Between 2017 and 2021, the health system had a nearly 54 percent increase in gunshot victims treated at its facilities.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is at risk of losing Medicare reimbursements due to patient safety concerns, Bay Area News Group reported Feb. 7.