A special article titled “Advancing Perioperative Medicine: A Multistakeholder Perspective” published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), states that “anesthesiology is uniquely positioned to influence the continued development of perioperative medicine.” In a press release about the article, ASA…
An investigation by media outlet Spotlight PA found that “Penn State Health struggled to maintain a usable supply of sterile instruments for the thousands of surgeries it performed at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center throughout 2025 and into this year.” “Internal documents” obtained by Spotlight PA discussed “persistent, mysterious black…
Harvard Business Review last week published a fascinating article that discusses why perioperative team design is often a more decisive factor in surgical success than advanced technology is. The article was written by Antonio García Romero, assistant professor of healthcare innovation academic director of the Disrupting Healthcare with Generative AI program,…
If your facility doesn’t have formalin safety precautions and policies in place, or if you’re looking to update your existing approach, below are some examples that can help you in your efforts. UC Berkeley’s Office of Environment, Health & Safety just updated its Hazards and Precautions Fact Sheet last month.…
Acute formalin exposure is a nightmare for both the OR staff who are exposed as well as the facility at which they work. When these emergencies occur, it’s no joke. The hazard is so great that local media even reports on these incidents. For example, in February, WQAD-TV reported on…
Formalin is a colorless but foul-smelling aqueous solution that usually consists of 37% to 40% formaldehyde gas, water, and a stabilizer such as methanol. In the OR, formalin is commonly used by staff to preserve and store biological specimens removed during surgery for subsequent pathological examination. However, when OR staff…
CommonSpirit Health last week signed a definitive agreement to transfer ownership of Ohio-based Trinity Health System, including Trinity Medical Center West and Trinity Medical East in Steubenville, Trinity St. Clairsville Neighborhood Hospital, Trinity Twin City Medical Center in Dennison, and associated clinics, to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The…
Ascension Saint Thomas will break ground June 16 on a new full-service hospital and 96-acre integrated health campus in Clarksville, Tenn. The $148.5 million hospital, which will “anchor” the campus, will open with 44 inpatient beds and, according to Ascension Saint Thomas, “provide emergency care, inpatient surgery, cardiology, women’s health,…
The Surgery Center of Southern Oregon (SCSO) in Medford will close on June 30 after nearly three decades of operation. KOBI-TV, which broke the story last week, reported that the closing will cause the loss of 84 jobs. Local health system Asante partly owned SCSO and had worked since October…
Texas-based NorthStar Anesthesia has bolstered its “growing role in the Mid-Atlantic outpatient surgery market” with a trio of ASC partnerships across Virginia. The ASCs are Careplex Orthopaedic ASC in Hampton Roads, MedRVA Healthcare’s Stony Point and West Creek surgery centers in the Richmond area, and an unidentified “otolaryngology center in…
