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Features

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.

• 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

Reading the fine print on prescription drug bottles can be challenging for many people. But for those who are visually impaired, it’s an all-but-impossible, potentially dangerous task. Now, a relatively new pill bottle has become music to the ears of those with poor eyesight.

• Less Remains More in The Battle Against COPD
• T.I.M.E. to Act: Cardiac Survival Plan
• Know What You Hear: A Basic Review of Pulmonary Auscultation