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In 2005, a nurse working at a hospital in Pennsylvania inadvertently jeopardized a patient’s life when she placed an incorrect color coded wristband around the patient’s arm. At her previous hospital, a yellow wrist band had been used to identify a ‘restricted extremity’. Unbeknown to the nurse, at her new facility, the yellow wristband meant “do not resuscitate”. The patient went into cardiac arrest and nearly died when the resuscitation team hesitated to perform CPR until another nurse recognized the error.

• Getting the Flu Vaccines? Potential Employers Want to Know!
• Pink October: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Headlines in Health

H1N1 influenza activity continues to increase steadily in the United States and flu activity is now widespread in 46 states (FluView, October 2009). Nationwide, visits to doctors for suspected H1N1 influenza are higher now than what is usually seen at the peak of regular flu seasons. In addition, flu-related hospitalizations and deaths continue to go up nationwide. Health authorities have confirmed that more than 1,000 people in the United States, including more than 90 children, have died from complications of the H1N1influenza.

• The Latest Hype On Heparin
• Understanding the Connection: Neural Tube Defects and Vitamin B
• Too Much of a Good Thing

Nursing organizational news

By Suzi Birz, principal, HiQ Analytics, LLC

In December 2008, the California HealthCare Foundation published Equipped for Efficiency: Improving Nursing Care Through Technology—a report that examined hospitals’ experiences with a variety of technologies that enhance nursing care delivery.

• Holistic Nursing Considers All Aspects of a Patient’s Life
• Hospitals Switch to Reusable Sharps Containers

Clinical Insights

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a group of progressive inflammatory diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems (CDC, 2009). COPD damages the airways and lung tissue, and over a period of time, these changes result in more severe conditions such as pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure.

• T.I.M.E. to Act: Cardiac Survival Plan
• Know What You Hear: A Basic Review of Pulmonary Auscultation
• Tips To Treasure: Wound Assessment Tool