The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week announced it is allowing marketing of the COBAS INTEGRA 800 Tina-quant HbA1cDx assay (Tina-quant HbA1cDx assay) for the diagnosis of diabetes by healthcare professionals. It is the first HbA1c test FDA has allowed to be marketed for this use.The HbA1c tests, or A1c tests, currently on the market are FDA-cleared for monitoring a patient's blood glucose (sugar) control, but not for diagnosing diabetes. A1c tests measure the percentage of hemoglobin A1c that is ...

Johns Hopkins researchers say hospitals may be reaping enormous income for patients whose hospital stays are complicated by preventable bloodstream infections contracted in their intensive care units.In a small study reported online in the American Journal of Medical Quality, the researchers found that an ICU patient who develops an avoidable central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) costs nearly three times more to care for than a similar infection-free patient. Moreover, hospitals earn ...

The Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced recipients in the 2013 National Awards Program to Recognize Achievements in Eliminating Health Care-Associated Infections (HAIs). Eight hospitals and healthcare facilities were honored May 20 at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses NTI & Critical Care Expo in Boston for successful and sustained efforts to prevent HAIs, specifically infections in ...

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) announced the appointment of five new members to the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research (NACNR), the institute's principal advisory board. Members of the council are drawn from the scientific and lay communities, embodying a diverse perspective from the fields of nursing, public and health policy, law, and economics. NINR, a component of the National Institutes of Health, is the primary federal agency for the support of nursing research.The ...

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered specific chemical alterations in two genes that, when present during pregnancy, reliably predict whether a woman will develop postpartum depression.The epigenetic modifications, which alter the way genes function without changing the underlying DNA sequence, can apparently be detected in the blood of pregnant women during any trimester, potentially providing a simple way to foretell depression in the weeks after giving birth, and an opportunity to ...

American Sentinel University, a fully accredited online university, has developed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Readiness Worksheet to help nurses assess how they feel about continuing their education and gauge their readiness. Nurses can print out the complimentary worksheet, respond to 10 statements, and then tally their score results to see how they rate on a BSN-readiness scale.To download the BSN Readiness Worksheet, click here.  New industry standards and complexities of ...

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia on May 17 presented their Distinguished Medical Achievement Award to the nursing staff at the NYU Langone Medical Center.The NYU Langone nurses were honored for evacuating more than 300 patients, including 20 infants in the NICU, in less than 15 hours during "Superstorm Sandy" last October.The infants evacuated from the NICU would each require teams of six to seven nurses ventilating by hand and monitoring vital signs while carrying the children down ...

Responding to an FDA decision to approve a new machine that allows healthcare providers who are not anesthesia experts to give the powerful drug propofol to patients undergoing colonoscopies and other gastrointestinal procedures, the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) this week stated collectively that the safest option for any patient receiving propofol remains the hands-on care provided by certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and anesthesiologists.The pre-market approval ...

Emerging trends in patient care combine with advances in healthcare technology as thousands of nurses who care for high acuity and critically ill patients gather in Boston May 18-23 for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses' (AACN) annual National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI).AACN expects attendance to top 7,000 nurses and include many at the forefront of research, academia, staff development and management. NTI, the world's largest conference for nurses who care for ...

The American Nurses Association (ANA) applauds the U.S. Senate's confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner, MHA, BSN, RN, as the permanent head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  A former intensive care unit nurse, Tavenner has served as chief executive officer of the Hospital Corporation of America and was Virginia's Secretary of Health and Human Resources under former Gov. Tim Kaine.Tavenner joined CMS in February 2010 and became acting administrator in December 2011. She was ...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released results of its Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Prevention Collaborative showing a 32% decrease in overall bloodstream infections and a 54% decrease in vascular access-related bloodstream infections after CDC prevention guidelines were used.  Vascular access-related bloodstream infections are those related to devices used to access the bloodstream for hemodialysis.  With approximately 37,000 bloodstream infections occurring each ...

Effective management of malnutrition requires collaboration among multiple clinical disciplines. From nurses who perform initial nutrition screening and ensure intervention compliance, to dietitians who complete nutrition assessment and recommendation(s), to physicians who oversee the overall care plan, nutrition is not just one provider's job.In response, five influential healthcare organizations have joint together to launch a new interdisciplinary partnership, the Alliance to Advance Patient Nutrition, ...

Cherokee Uniforms, a provider of healthcare apparel, has begun accepting nominations for its 11th annual Inspired Comfort Award. The award recognizes nurses, nursing student, and other non-physician healthcare professionals "who have taken extraordinary and inspiring steps to serve their patients and their communities." "Inspired Comfort Award recipients are recognized for going above and beyond to demonstrate exceptional service, sacrifice and innovation in patient ...

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved a research award to the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) and Johns Hopkins University to deliver telemedicine care to people with Parkinson's disease in their homes.The project will focus on delivering the benefits of neurologist care using telemedicine to people in rural, remote, and underserved areas. The project is based on an innovative care model combining technology, training, and team-based-care to transform ...

The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will bestow the 2013 Circle of Excellence Award on 25 nurses nationwide at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition May 18-23 in Boston. View the list of recipientsThe nurses are from 16 states and were chosen to receive the award "for achieving excellent outcomes in the care of acutely and critically ill patients and their families."According to AACN, criteria to evaluate the Circle of Excellence Award candidates ...