Topic: hospitals

Hospital Food Is About To Get A Lot Better (Thanks To Michelle Obama)

Hospital Food Is About To Get A Lot Better (Thanks To Michelle Obama)

No more slimy Jello cups and tasteless mashed potatoes: The Partnership For A Healthy America announced today that over 400 hospitals in the US are joining with them to provide better, healthier food to hospitals. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, is currently the honorary chairwoman of the PHA, and this news comes on the heels of another new partnership aimed to promote healthier diets for Americans (that one involving the First Lady, Pinterest and several media companies). More »

Everybody Chill: Bloomberg Does Not Want To Ban Your Baby Formula

Everybody Chill: Bloomberg Does Not Want To Ban Your Baby Formula

So did you hear how New York City is trying to ban baby formula? And how in order to make new mothers breastfeed, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is set to sign an executive order stating that city hospitals must hand over all baby formula to City Hall by the end of the week? At which point Bloomberg will personally lead a crowd of hippies and socialists in dumping it in the East River à la the Boston Tea Party? More »

Worst Hospital Food: McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, Chicken Wings

Worst Hospital Food: McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Chicken Wings

Why is hospital food so nutritionally bad?* Hospital menus are in the news right now, after advocacy group Corporate Accountability International petitioned nearly two dozen hospital administrators to kick McDonald’s restaurants out. But McDonald’s isn’t the only fast food chain at hospitals. And even without outside help, hospital cafeterias aren’t exactly filled with kale and whole grains (consider this Chicago Tribune article, where offering turkey burgers, a salad bar and tempura among pizza and burgers is deemed progressive). Click through for some of the worst hospital food environments. More »

Surgery With A Side of Spa: More Hospitals Offering Alternative Therapies

Surgery With A Side of Spa: More Hospitals Offering Alternative Therapies

A recent survey by the American Hospital Association and the nonprofit Samueli Institute found the number of hospitals offering ‘complementary and alternative medical therapies’ such as acupuncture and massage is on the rise. Five years ago, just 27% of the hospitals surveyed offered such treatments; in this most recent survey, that number jumped to 42%. Some say the shift represents a recognition by medical professionals that integrating alternative therapies into hospital care can be more effective than traditional treatment alone. But some take a more cynical view: Hospitals are simply giving patients what they want, and what they’re willing to pay more for, even in the absence of evidence that these treatments work. More »

Morning Links: Radiation Exposure and Iodine Scams

Morning Links: Radiation Exposure and Iodine Scams

Work Out the Jitters – Studies show that exercise relieves anxiety in the short term, so if you’re on edge about your upcoming job interview or nervous for a big speech, head to the gym to work it out. (PsychCentral)

Ins & Outs of Radiation Exposure – The health risks of Japan’s nuclear disaster are minimal, say scientists, but many people are falling victim to iodine scams in efforts to protect themselves from radiation exposure. (NPR)

Unhealthy Hospitals – Surgery prep pads were recalled nationwide this week, owing to a bacterial contamination that can cause severe infection and meningitis in at-risk populations. (TheChart)

Guns N’ Roses Sample Sale – If you’re in the market for antique yoga paraphernalia, today’s your day: Slash is auctioning off his Tibetan yoga mats to benefit the Los Angeles Youth Network. (YogaDork) More »

Health Care Issues: Hospital-Associated Infection Control

Health Care Issues: Hospital-Associated Infection Control

Thanks to the recent midterm elections and this week’s State of the Union address, health care and health care reform has made its way into the headlines more often over the past few months. But one topic we haven’t seen covered very often is the frequency of health care-associated infections (or HAIs), which are any infection that patients develop at a hospital or other patient care facility that they didn’t have prior to treatment, like ventilator-related pneumonia and surgery site infections. We were shocked to learn that HAIs are one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S., with an estimated two million patients being affected by an HAI every year.

But one company, Kimberly-Clark Health Care, which manufactures tubes and other sterile products used in hospitals, is working to raise awareness of HAIs and increase prevention through its Not On My Watch Campaign, which offers continuing education to health care facilities’ staff and management.

Will it help reduce the number of HAIs in the U.S.? More »

Hospital Horrors: Can You Prevent Doctor Errors Before They Happen?

Hospital Horrors: Can You Prevent Doctor Errors Before They Happen?

Check out this post about keeping your doctors on their toes by Dr. Julie Silver on AOL Health.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about Dr. David Ring, a surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital (where I am also on the medical staff) who publicly announced that he did the wrong operation on a patient’s left hand. Instead of doing a trigger finger surgery, he fixed her non-existent carpal tunnel “problem.” Realizing his mistake, he told her about it and did a second surgery on the left hand — the correct one. More »

Young Doctors and Algebra Anxiety: Morning News Round-Up

Young Doctors and Algebra Anxiety: Morning News Round-Up

Academic Integrity: University hospitals are no better than other hospitals. (via The Huffington Post)

Arithmetic Anxiety: If you’ve got math-phobia, electroshock therapy could help. Yay? (via The Globe and Mail)

Docs in Diapers: That doctor you think looks too young to be competent probably is. (via The Independent)

Too Much of a Good Thing: Taking vitamin E supplements could increase your risk for stroke. (via BBC News) More »

WTF: Med School Students Perform Pelvic Exams on Unconscious Patients

WTF: Med School Students Perform Pelvic Exams on Unconscious Patients

We assume that many of our lady readers have had surgery at some point in their adult lives. But did you know there’s a chance that a med student practiced doing a pelvic exam on you while you were under anesthesia? Apparently this is a completely acceptable practice in hospitals around the world, and doctors don’t see anything unethical about it. In fact, in the March 2003 issue of the American Journal of OB/GYN, the residency director of Johns Hopkins said, “I don’t think any of us even think about it. It’s just so standard as to how you train medical students.” More »