INQRI

A Father’s Quest
By Claudia Kalb | Newsweek Web Exclusive Apr 13, 2010

After his twins almost died in a medical accident, actor Dennis Quaid takes his mission to improve hospital safety worldwide.

In November 2007, Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins, Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone, nearly died from an overdose of the blood thinner heparin at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Since then, the actor has mounted a crusade against medical errors. Latest stop: the National Press Club, where on Monday Quaid talked about what happened to his children and what needs to be done to eradicate tragic mistakes. “My mission today is to drive awareness,” Quaid said, “and my message is a call to action.”
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Expanding What We Know About Off-peak Mortality in Hospitals
JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration: March 2010 – Volume 40 – Issue 3 – pp 124-128 

Hamilton, Patti PhD, RN; Mathur, Sondip PhD; Gemeinhardt, Gretchen PhD, MBA; Eschiti, Valerie PhD, RN; Campbell, Marie PhD

Abstract

For more than 30 years, a negative “off-peak effect” on patient outcomes has been associated with weekend and/or nighttime hospitalization in more than 25 diagnostic groups. Descriptive studies have verified the presence of this off-peak effect on patient outcomes but have done little to explain its cause. Read more…

Dean researching off-peak hour hospital death rate
Times Record News, Wichita Falls, TX
By Ann Work
Posted: April 9, 2009

Dr. Patti Hamilton has already found one practical take-away from her research on nursing crises that occur at hospitals on nights and weekends.

Hamilton, a registered nurse and dean of graduate studies at Midwestern State University, learned from interviews with 30 nurses that it’s best for patients to always bring a family member with them as an advocate for their care.

“One nurse in a critical care area said, ‘I’m so glad when families are in the room. Then I know I can’t ignore them,’ ” Hamilton said Tuesday when she presented her initial research findings at MSU’s University Faculty Forum. “So take somebody with you.”
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Healthcare Finance News
Globally, patients pay the price for insufficient nursing staff, large workloads

DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – Nurses believe that heavy workloads and insufficient staff are impacting patient care and health outcomes around the world, according to research presented at the International Council of Nurses’ 24th Quadrennial Congress.
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Weekend Births Riskier In Some Hospitals
Study: Giving Birth On A Weekend May Be Risker If Hospital Delivers Fewer Babies

Giving birth on a weekend may be riskier to a newborn’s life if relatively few babies are delivered at the hospital, according to a new Texas study.

“Overall, we found a ‘weekend effect’ in all but the largest volume of hospitals,” says Elizabeth Restrepo, Ph.D., R.N., a clinical consultant and data analyst at Texas Health Resources in Arlington. She presented the findings Tuesday at the 55th Annual Clinical Meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in San Diego. Read more…

Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing

Differences Between Weekend and Weekday Nursing Environments and Patient Outcomes: A Focus Group Approach to Model Testing

Hamilton, Patti PhD, RN; Eschiti, Valerie S. PhD, RN, CHTP, AHN-BC; Hernandez, Karen; Neill, Denise PhD, RN

Abstract:

Design: This focus group study was exploratory and descriptive.

Purpose: To identify differences between weekend and weekly nurse work environments that might explain higher rates of neonatal mortality among babies born on weekends.

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Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey

A Comparison of Perinatal Mortality in Korea on Holidays and Working Days

Hong, J S.; Kang, H C.; Yi, S -W.; Han, Y J.; Nam, C M.; Gombojav, B; Ohrr, H

Abstract:

Numerous studies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s in the US and Europe found that rates of stillbirth and prenatal/neonatal mortality were higher on weekends than on weekdays. As a result, fewer elective births were undertaken on weekends. Two possible reasons for these findings are suboptimal staffing-leading to lower-quality care-and a different, adverse weekend case-mix. Read more…

Research Roundup
By Jean Robinson
AIMS Journal, Summer 2004, Vol16 No2

Could mothers who give birth at the weekend be at higher risk in the first place-for example, from conditions like anaemia or hypertension? Read more…