JAMES MASSIE, AN ARMY VETERAN AND A PATIENT AT THE SALEM VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER IN SALEM, VIRGINIA, GETS HIS TEETH BRUSHED BY NURSING ASSISTANT TERESA QUARLES IN JUNE. THE SALEM VA REPRIORITIZED ORAL CARE TO COMBAT NON-VENTILATOR HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA IN 2016, AND THE PROGRAM HAS SINCE EXPANDED ACROSS THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION AND IS OFTEN CITED AS A MODEL FOR ALL HOSPITALS./ROSAIRE BUSHEY/KHN
Hospital patients not getting their teeth brushed, or not brushing their teeth themselves, is believed to be a leading cause of hundreds of thousands of cases of pneumonia a year in patients not on a ventilator.
Jul 12, 2022
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KAREN HABERLAND, PROJECT OFFICER AT ECRI, DEMONSTRATES HOW A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL PUTS ON A DISPOSABLE ISOLATION GOWN./CAROLINE GUTMAN/KHN
Gowns worn in medical and intensive care units ripped too easily and allowed 4 to 14 times the expected amount of liquid to seep through, a study says.
The loans are contributing to the financial woes of Northwest health systems, which are reporting some of their biggest losses since the pandemic began.
States like Oregon were watching as a Massachusetts health cost watchdog agency and a coalition of consumers, health systems, and insurers helped block a hospital expansion over fears it would drive up costs.