The Office of Financial Management (OFM) recently released a brief examining maternal and newborn inpatient rates in which drugs or alcohol were a factor. Between 1990 and 2014, the rate of maternal hospital stays that included a diagnosis of substance abuse increased threefold, and the rate of newborn hospital stays that stemmed from maternal substance abuse increased fourfold, according to the report. Most of this increase is due to increased opiate use.... Read More >>

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued an official health advisory Feb. 1 due to reports of severe cases of influenza. WSHA members have reported surges in patients testing positively for influenza, and staff at some hospitals have begun wearing masks to prevent the spread of the illness.... Read More >>

The Department of Health (DOH) recently updated the Breastfeeding Friendly Washington Hospitals program to reflect feedback received from Washington State hospitals. Supporting breastfeeding is an important part of ensuring newborns get a great start to a healthy life.... Read More >>

Last week, WSHA’s leader on patient safety, Carol Wagner, was interviewed by Daniel Bornstein for his column “The Fix.” He is doing a two-week look at the work that is being done to reduce preventable harm in hospitals — specifically, the work that is being done under Partnership for Patients.... Read More >>

Washington Apple Health (Medicaid) is now covering both over-the-counter and prescription prenatal vitamins for all women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, including retroactive coverage through Oct. 1, 2015. Prenatal vitamins are covered in order to provide a daily vitamin supplement containing 0.4 to 0.8 milligrams of folic acid.... Read More >>

Patient safety measures that reward hospitals for reducing preventable infections, pressure ulcers and adverse drug events have led to a 17 percent decline in patient harm in the last four years, according to a new study from the Department of Health and Human Services. This means 87,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and nearly $20 billion in health care costs have been saved, nationally.... Read More >>

Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP) is offering an opportunity to a select group of hospitals to implement a workplace violence prevention program and evaluate its effectiveness. The cost of reacting after a serious incident has occurred is 100 times more costly than taking preventive actions.... Read More >>

In a major release on November 9, the National Institutes of Health announced that contrary to some initial fears, the reduction of early elective deliveries has not led to an increase in stillborn deaths. As the NIH release states, “When compared to infants born after 39 weeks, those born in the 37th and 38th weeks were at a higher risk for respiratory problems, low blood sugar and newborn sepsis (a blood infection). They also were more likely to spend time in a newborn intensive care unit.”... Read More >>

A few weeks ago, Carol Wagner announced that WSHA received a federal contract to do rapid-cycle patient safety improvement in our state. This multi-million-dollar contract provides the energy needed to make big progress on health care’s trickiest problems, including healthcare-acquired infections, falls, health disparities and more.... Read More >>

The 2015 “Washington State Hospital Association Achieving Best Care” award recognizes achievements in making health care safer. “When it comes to our hospitals’ achievements in patient safety, Washington state has... Read More >>