A dangerous traditionLike sunshine and summer, Americans have associated fireworks with the 4th of July since its first celebration in 1777. In all states except Massachusetts, some forms of consumer fireworks are legal. Unfortunately, they constitute a dangerous form of festivity. In 2020, 18 Americans died from firework-related incidents, while 15,600 people were treated in hospital emergency departments for firework injuries. Unsurprisingly, the … [Read more...]
OT
Caring Through Crises: Disaster Mental Health
Though scope and impact may vary, a disaster is generally defined as an unexpected, catastrophic event that generates widespread damage, loss, or destruction.The images of disaster are never far from our collective consciousness. The flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The ash-stained streets of New York City after 9/11. The red skies of California during the wildfires of 2020. The ICUs were packed to capacity during the heights … [Read more...]
COVID-19 Updates: Long COVID, Declining Life Expectancy, and More
More support for individuals living with “long COVID” is expected in the near future. Diagnosis trackerMore than 499.6 million cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been diagnosed worldwide as of Monday evening, including more than 6.2 million deaths. Healthcare officials in the United States have reported more than 82.1 million positive COVID-19 cases and more than 1 million deaths. Source: www.worldometers.info/coronavirusVaccine trackerMore than 11.4 … [Read more...]
The Vaught Verdict and Patient Safety
Negligence or recklessness?In December 2017, RaDonda Vaught, a nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, administered a dose of medication to Charlene Murphey, a 75-year-old patient scheduled for a PET scan. The medication Murphey’s physician ordered was an intravenous sedative, Versed. Vaught, however, withdrew vecuronium, a paralytic drug from the dispensing cabinet.According to testimony, Vaught searched the cabinet profile … [Read more...]
Raising Awareness of Sexual Assault
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. Sponsored by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)The theme this year is “Building Safe Spaces Online Together.”Sexual violence statisticsSexual violence is a pervasive According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 43.6% of American women (amounting to nearly 52.2 million) experienced some form of contact with sexual violence in their lifetime. Likewise, nearly … [Read more...]
Does Daylight Saving Time Help or Hurt?
“Spring forward, Fall back.”Twice a year, many Americans call on the familiar mnemonic device as they adjust their clocks to the new time. First proposed — somewhat satirically — by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, the U.S. adopted Daylight Saving Time (DST) during World War I, along with many other nations, in a wartime effort to conserve energy. However, it wasn’t until 1966 that Congress passed legislation to establish an official, uniform Daylight Saving Time … [Read more...]
The Surprising Collegiate Sport Driving Injury-Related Surgeries
A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York set out to answer a rarely asked, yet intriguing question: Which college sport results in the greatest number of surgical interventions for its athletes?A decade of records reveals interesting trends“Analysis of surgery rates among 25 national collegiate athletic association sports” was published in the December 21 edition of The Physician and Sportsmedicine and found that women’s … [Read more...]
Prescribing Exercise for Geriatric Patients
America is aging.Within the next decade, more than 19% of the U.S. population is expected to be over the age of 65. Of this demographic, more than 60% are considered physically inactive. Current guidelines suggest older adults should participate in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week with an additional two days of resistance training — but it’s likely that up to 90% of adults over the age of 75 do not meet these guidelines. Prolonged … [Read more...]
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