Safety 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…
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…
A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons examines the efficacy of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program’s older-adult enhanced recovery protocol. The GSV program is designed specifically for patients 65 and older. Its seven components are: Delirium prevention Routine…
Vascular surgeon Mounir ‘Joseph’ Haurani, MD, MPH of East Carolina University, recently spoke with Venous News, “the international newspaper for venous specialists,” about the current state of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) care, particularly the deficits in care for patients post-hospital discharge. Among his insights: More than 900,000 Americans are affected…
People magazine last week reported on a husband’s reaction to his wife’s death at a surgery center. The outlet writes that a 48-year-old woman underwent a 10-hour surgery at a plastic surgery center. She stopped breathing the next day, was revived with CPR, but was pronounced brain-dead. The patient had…
Two ASCs publicly reported data security incidents over the last week. Covenant Health’s Advanced Family Surgery Center, formally known as Surgery Center of Oak Ridge (Tenn.), LLC, stated that “on or around November 26, 2025,” it “became aware of a network intrusion that affected a limited number of systems” and…
A narrative review article published this week in ACOS General Surgery zeroes in on frailty as a surgical vital sign, with discussion of risk stratification and outcomes for these patients in general surgery. The authors, largely from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, note that although frailty has…
The ASC Quality Collaboration (ASCQC), an independent, nonprofit organization exclusively dedicated to advancing patient safety and quality of care delivery in ASCs, has announced that its ASC Safety & Quality Assessment is now open for its second year. Nearly 400 ASCs participated in the 2025 assessment, and ASCQC hopes even more…
