Newly released survey findings from National Nurses United indicate a significant proportion of hospital nurses don't have regular access to N95s or other types of respirators, a situation the nation's largest union of registered nurses claims could worsen if the CDC moves forward with draft guidelines that don't make firm recommendations on the use of respirators to prevent the spread of common pathogens like flu and COVID-19. 

A ninth case of measles has been confirmed in connection with the outbreak in Philadelphia, the city's health department reported Jan. 17.

Claire Fagin, PhD, RN, a leading change agent and nurse advocate, died Jan. 16, The New York Times reported Jan. 17. She was 97.

The 2023-24 flu season is well underway, with the U.S. seeing a higher hospitalization rate at this point in the year than eleven of the past thirteen flu seasons.

The number of deaths related to fungal infections is complicated to measure and as a result likely underreported. The updated mortality rate is almost double that of past estimates, according to a study published Jan. 12 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

Among the 4,980 citations delivered to hospitals in 2023, the most common were for care in a safe setting deficiencies, according to CMS data.  

Illness and disease are common with age, but new research suggests that U.S. adults are now spending more time in their life sick than well, The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 17.

A new strain of multidrug resistant Pseudocitrobacter bacteria has been identified by researchers. The novel strain was resistant to seven different classes of antibiotics, according to the data, published Jan. 17 in The Journal of Hospital Infection.

Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico and Wisconsin were the only states with nursing programs that had a perfect score, according to a registerednursing.org ranking.

Thirty-five states are experiencing high or very high respiratory virus activity, according to the CDC, despite a recent dip in flu hospital admissions and a slower increase in the rate of new COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Nurse leaders said allowing days off when necessary and listening and responding to feedback from nurses were the two most effective strategies for improving staffing at their organization, according to an American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation's study.

Michelle Strider, BSN, RN, was appointed chief nursing officer of Charlottesville, Va.-based UVA Community Health.

Between November 2022 and October 2023, an Intermountain Health hospital prevented 38 central line-associated bloodstream infections, equal to reducing incidences by 46%, according to Heidi Wald, MD. 

Health officials in Clay County, Mo., issued an exposure warning Jan. 12, after confirming an active measles case in a resident of Liberty, a suburb 15 miles outside of Kansas City.

There are no reported injuries following a Jan. 14 active shooter situation at Dillingham, Alaska-based Kanakanak Hospital, managed by Dillingham-based Bristol Bay Area Health Corp., according to a Jan. 14 news release shared with Becker's.

After weeks of rising cases of flu nationally, hospitalizations and positive tests have slightly declined. COVID-19 hospitalizations have also slowed for the first time in weeks, according to CDC data.

Twelve percent of nurse leaders plan to leave their position in the next six months, according to an American Organization for Nursing Leadership Foundation study.

State officials have cited Penn Medicine's Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital for several health code violations, including failure to ensure sterilization equipment was available for surgeries.

Patients who have survived a COVID-19 infection may be at a greater risk of developing digestive diseases, according to research published Jan. 10 in BMC Medicine.

Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health had a $100 million financial turnaround in 2023 — and that was not by chance.