The Role of a Regional Poison Center in Assessing and Managing Disaster Risk.

The United States constantly faces the threat of large-scale disasters caused by natural and human factors. Emergency medical services, other first responders, and emergency department professionals are responsible for triaging and caring for victims of mass casualty incidents that include biological, chemical, and radiological agents. These providers need immediate access to individuals with expertise in infectious disease, medical toxicology, and biological, chemical, and radiological exposure who are readily available or easily accessible in the event of an emergency.

Surveillance of home health central venous catheter care outcomes: Challenges and future directions.

Background: Limited data are available regarding central venous catheter (CVC)-related complications that occur in home care. A practical out-of-hospital surveillance mechanism is needed.

Methods: Home health/infusion agencies in 4 states submitted monthly data from January 2011 through March 2015.

A Day in the Life of a CVAD.

Patients are increasingly receiving therapy at home via central vascular access devices (CVADs). Limited data exist regarding patients' experiences with outpatient CVADs. This study characterized outpatient CVAD care via 14-day patient diaries.

Integrating quality improvement and translational research models to increase exclusive breastfeeding.

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), a perinatal core measure, is associated with a longer duration of breastfeeding. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to increase the percent of healthy term singleton newborns who were exclusively breastfed at an academic medical center in the Midwest. Implementation of skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn immediately following birth resulted in an increase in the percent of healthy term singleton newborns who were EBF from 55% to 64%.

The assessment and documentation of language and communication needs in healthcare systems: current practices and future directions for coordinating safe, patient-centered care.

Several issues surface when one considers the task of unpacking health disparities and examining features of health care systems that influence patient access, utilization, and outcomes. Although progress has been made in the collection of language data across healthcare systems, little attention has been devoted to examining how a patient's English proficiency and the need for interpretation services are being determined, and how this information is communicated to providers. A lack of a standardized approach to these system-based processes exposes potential limitations in the ability of systems and providers to effectively coordinate care that meets patients' needs and minimizes disparate outcomes.

Controversy: neonatal exposure to plasticizers in the NICU.

This article presents a review of extant literature that informs our current understanding of the effects of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure on neonates. Phthalates such as DEHP add flexibility to plastics. DEHP is a major component in the manufacturing of polyvinyl chloride devices commonly used in the healthcare setting.

Racial segregation and differential outcomes in hospital care.

This exploratory study of patients in Pennsylvania (PA) and Virginia (VA) hospitals in 1998-1999 measures the segregation of care for Black patients receiving inpatient care for specific medical and surgical conditions. It also examined inpatient mortality risk for Black patients and the impact of treatment in heavily segregated hospitals on mortality for Blacks and non-Blacks. Segregation of hospital care was found across both states but was more pronounced in PA.

Nurses' concerns and practices with using interpreters in the care of Latino patients in the emergency department.

This phenomenological study aimed to describe nursing care of Latinos in the emergency department to determine how care is planned relative to the patient's ethnicity, including linguistic abilities. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 15 registered nurses from four hospitals in the Northwest. Interpreters play a pivotal role in nurses' practices.