Tag - Safety

May 16, 2023Read more...

NAEMSP® Year Long Quality Improvement and Safety Course

NAEMSP® is committed to developing and nurturing the next generation of clinical quality and patient safety leaders in the EMS community. NAEMSP®’s Quality and Safety year-long course provides EMS physicians and quality improvement leaders with the knowledge and skills necessary to lead quality improvement and patient safety initiatives in their region, system, or agency. Participants will develop an in-depth understanding of how to apply tools and strategies of quality improvement to their local needs to affect the care of patients....

March 3, 2020Read more...

For Week #8 Flu & ILI Decreased for 2nd Week but Pediatric Deaths at Record Rate

Executive Summary:  Although the flu season is hopefully going to continue to decline over the next month, it is still something to watch closely.  Flu activity decreased with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons.  Pediatric deaths total 125 for the season, with 20 of those deaths reported this week. This season is considered severe. Also, with COVID-19 now in different states and communities within the U.S., some with community spread, everyone must realize that the...

February 25, 2020Read more...

For Week #7 Flu & ILI Decreased Slightly with a Record Setting Number of Total Pediatric Deaths

Executive Summary:  Although eyes are still focused on COVID-19, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America at this time.  Flu activity decreased with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons.  Pediatric deaths total 105 for the season, with 13 of those deaths reported this week. Adult deaths are below the epidemic threshold.  This season is considered a severe.   Download the Full Update

February 19, 2020Read more...

For Week #6 Flu & ILI Increased for the 4th Week with 14 Pediatric Deaths Reported

Executive Summary: Although most eyes are laser-focused on the COVID-19, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America and other countries outside the China region at this time.  Flu activity increased again with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons.  Pediatric deaths total 92 for the season, with 14 of those deaths reported this week although adult deaths are below the epidemic threshold.  This season is considered a bad one as far as numbers...

February 9, 2020Read more...

For Week #4 Flu & ILI Increased for the 2nd Week with 14 Pediatric Deaths Reported

Executive Summary: Although most eyes are laser-focused on the 2019-nCoV, Flu activity remains a far greater threat to North America and other countries outside the China region at this time.  Flu activity increased again with hospitalizations for children & young adults higher than other recent flu seasons.  Pediatric deaths total 68 for the season, with 14 of those deaths reported this week.    Download the Full Update

February 5, 2020Read more...

NIOSH Warns of Counterfeit Particulate Respirators Feb 4, 2020

IN THE NEWS Executive Summary: The CDC and NIOSH have reported counterfeit respirators being sold on the open market with various methods of NIOSH Approval misrepresentation in the way of pictures and descriptions. Full Report: NIOSH-Approved N95 or better masks are the mainstay of preventing airborne diseases from being transmitted and is the minimum required mask for health care workers when Airborne Precautions are in place (such as for suspected 2019-nCoV patients). They must be individually Fit Tested after a medical evaluation to assure...

February 3, 2020Read more...

Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV – What Public Safety/First Responders Can Do

What First Responders Can Do Feb-3-2020: The information in the attached PDF is designed to assist EMS and other First Responders, but may contain information not complete or applicable to a particular agency or situation.  All stakeholders should review pertinent national public health and WHO documents to ensure complete knowledge. Download the pdf

January 29, 2020Read more...

CDC Issued Health Advisory regarding elevated flu activity Week #3 — Week Ending 1-18-20

Executive Summary: The CDC issued a health advisory, HAN 00425, on Jan 10 warning of elevated flu activity with Influenza B/Victoria and A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses dominating. Children have taken the worse hit in regards to severe disease this season with Influenza B accounting for more than half the pediatric deaths this season (37 of 54).  Although flu & ILI activity was in decline for a couple of weeks which could have signaled an early end to the flu season, that is apparently...

January 10, 2020Read more...

Atypical Pneumonia Outbreak in China – Updates #1 & #2 for 1/7/20 and 1/8/20

IN THE NEWS Late Afternoon/Evening Update for 1/8/20 -- An Organism Identified: In the afternoon hours of the January 8th, multiple American news agencies, citing sources close to the ongoing investigation, as well as from the WHO, began posting on-line articles that state a novel coronavirus has been identified in some of the hospitalized patients associated with the Wuhan, China pneumonia outbreak.  It is important to note that, per the Wall Street Journal, it has not been confirmed to be found...

January 8, 2020Read more...

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week Ending 12-28-19

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #52 -- Week Ending 12-28-19 The CDC reported that flu activity (diagnosed flu and ILI outpatient visits) is high in all regions of the US and is continuing to increase.  It has been elevated for eight (8) weeks now, longer at this time point than in most previous seasons.  It is also important to note that Flu/ILI might be underreported for this time period because of the holidays and less people going for outpatient/doctor office visits. ...

January 3, 2020Read more...

Atypical Pneumonia in China Province Tied to Seafood Market

IN THE NEWS This information is being published only for awareness because there has been confirmation that a small outbreak of what is thought to be a viral pneumonia/respiratory infection is being investigated by The National (China) Health and Health Commission, the Heath Commission of Hubei Province, and the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission.  Reports have also been made by Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) and Taiwan’s CDC.  At last report, 12/31/19, the outbreak consisted of 27 individuals with fever...

December 23, 2019Read more...

Measles in the US & Results of a Human Study on Measles that Warrants Exploring

Measles Update: As 2019 winds down in just a little over a week, there were less cases (8) in November 2019, than in any previous month in 2019 except September, which had 6 cases; October had 13.  It is still too early to report December’s numbers since reporting & recording to the CDC is only through Dec 5 at this time, but there are currently no reported cases for December.  Those numbers, as well as the total for the entire 2019...

December 23, 2019Read more...

Ebola (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with Good News in the Fight Against Ebola

An Update of the Current Situation: A snapshot of the DRC Dashboard, provided by the DRC with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, includes the following data on the most current number of cases, deaths, survivors, and the contacts followed.  As of 12/21/19, there have been a total of 3,358 cases including both confirmed and probable cases.  This includes one (1) new confirmed case as part of the 3,240 confirmed cases (proven by laboratory testing), and 118 probable ones (almost...

December 20, 2019Read more...

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week Ending 12-14-19

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #50 -- Week Ending 12-14-19 The CDC reported that flu season is in full swing, with all regions of the US having elevated ILI and flu activity continuing to increase.  Most of the current flu activity is caused by Influenza B/Victoria which typically occurs in late Winter or Spring, toward the end of the flu season.  A(H1N1) is the next most common and is increasing compared to the other flu viruses, followed by A(H3N2) with an...

December 13, 2019Read more...

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week Ending 12-7-19

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #49 -- Week Ending 12-7-19 The CDC reported that seasonal flu is in full swing, with all regions of the US having elevated ILI and flu activity continues to increase.  Most of the current flu activity is caused by Influenza B/Victoria which more typically occurs toward the end of the flu season.  A(H1N1) is the next most common and seems to be increasing compared to the other flu viruses, followed by A(H3N2) with a much smaller...

December 6, 2019Read more...

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week Ending 11-30-19

Influenza (FLU) Update for Week #48 -- Week Ending 11-30-19 The CDC reported that seasonal flu activity continued to increase over the previous week; from a national perspective, ILI has been at/above baseline for four weeks, and many areas of the country have significant levels of flu, while some areas are still seeing only low levels of flu activity.  According to the data, the 2019/20 flu season is ramping up earlier and faster when compared with other recent years (see chart...