Health News
Overworked nurses dealing with heavy patient loads are associated with increases in hospital-acquired infections, say researchers with the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.
"For each 10 percent jump in the proportion of nurses who logged high levels of burnout, there was roughly one additional catheter-associated urinary tract infection per 1,000 patients and almost two extra surgical site infections per 1,000," reports JoNel Aleccia for NBC News.
Researchers conducted a survey with 7,000 registered nurses at 161 Pennsylvania hospitals and matched that data with hospital infection rates and characteristics of hospitals nationwide. The study found more than a third of nurses said they feel high levels of burnout. They cared for an average of 5.7 patients each, and "when even one patient was added to that load, the result was an additional 1,351 infections within the hospital population studied," Aleccia reports.
The study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, also found cutting down on burnout not only reduces infections but saves money. Cutting it by 30 percent decreased urinary tract infections by 4,000 and surgical site infections by more than 2,200, resulting in a savings of between $28 million and $69 million each year, researchers found.
When it comes to nurse-to-patient ratios, no one seems to be tracking the averages, Aleccia reports. They can range from one nurse for every one or two patients in intensive care units or a one-to-five ratio, as mandated in surgical units in California. (Read more)
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Health News
More hospital-acquired infections are reported in patients cared for nurses who are overworked, study finds
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"For each 10 percent jump in the proportion of nurses who logged high levels of burnout, there was roughly one additional catheter-associated urinary tract infection per 1,000 patients and almost two extra surgical site infections per 1,000," reports JoNel Aleccia for NBC News.
Researchers conducted a survey with 7,000 registered nurses at 161 Pennsylvania hospitals and matched that data with hospital infection rates and characteristics of hospitals nationwide. The study found more than a third of nurses said they feel high levels of burnout. They cared for an average of 5.7 patients each, and "when even one patient was added to that load, the result was an additional 1,351 infections within the hospital population studied," Aleccia reports.
The study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, also found cutting down on burnout not only reduces infections but saves money. Cutting it by 30 percent decreased urinary tract infections by 4,000 and surgical site infections by more than 2,200, resulting in a savings of between $28 million and $69 million each year, researchers found.
When it comes to nurse-to-patient ratios, no one seems to be tracking the averages, Aleccia reports. They can range from one nurse for every one or two patients in intensive care units or a one-to-five ratio, as mandated in surgical units in California. (Read more)
- Consumer Reports Releases Annual Hospital-acquired Infection Report; Some Ky. Hospitals Have Work To Do; State To Get Data
A new study from Consumer Reports has analyzed hospital-acquired infection data for thousands of hospitals across the U.S. and rated them on how well they prevented these infections. Not all hospitals in Kentucky were rated, but of the ones that were,...
- Infections, Other Safety Issues Plague Hospitals, Maybe More So When Nursing Is Cut; Here's A Good Series On It
The Centers for Disease Control has reported that nearly 1 million patient-safety incidents, including infections that patients acquired in hospitals, occurred among Medicare patients over the years 2006, 2007, 2008. In all, the incidents -- which represented...
- 100 Kentucky Hospitals Join Network To Improve Patient Safety, Fight Hospital-acquired Conditions Such As Infections
To help hospitals reduce preventable readmissions and hospital-acquired infections, 100 of Kentucky's 131 hospitals have joined the Kentucky Hospital Association's hospital engagement network. The group's goal is to help hospitals find ways...
- Electronic Health Records Are Helping Nurses Provide Better Care, Big Study Finds
Electronic health records are helping nurses get better health outcomes and are improving nursing care, the first big study on the subject has found. The study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing involved 16,000 nurses at 316...
- Uk Hospital Gets Below Average Marks On Patient Satisfaction, Infections; Data On Your Local Hospital Are Available Online
Despite $900 million being invested in expanding the University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, its patients at do not seem all that happy with the care they receive there. In an op-ed piece in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Dr. Kevin Kavanagh of Somerset...