Hospital group says ‘alarm fatigue’ can be deadly
Constantly beeping alarms in hospitals are being linked to patient deaths and other dangers in a new alert from the Joint Commission.
The alarms can lead to “noise fatigue,” and doctors and nurses sometimes inadvertently ignore the sounds when there’s a real patient emergency, possibly resulting in treatment delays that endanger patients.
That’s according to the alert issued Monday by the Joint Commission hospital accrediting group.
The group says a government database lists more than 500 deaths potentially linked with hospital alarms in recent years.
The commission says hospital leaders need to address the problem and train staffers in safe alarm management.
The Joint Commission accredits more than 10,000 U.S. hospital and health care organizations. Hospitals covet accreditation and following commission advice is key to maintaining it.
Many young women live with men first, marry later
Nearly half of young women say the first time they lived with a guy, they weren’t married.
That’s the finding of a government survey released Thursday.
The results are a marked changed from 1995 when only 34 percent said they moved in together. Now it is 48 percent. Back then, 39 percent said they married first, compared to 23 now.
Experts say the numbers show living together is increasing used as a testing ground for marriage. About 40 percent of the women who lived with a guy went on to marry him within 3 years.
The survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questioned more than 12,000 women younger than 45 from 2006 to 2010.
Michelle Obama challenges kids with lunch contest
Children from across the nation will rub elbows with Michelle Obama and dine off fine china in the East Room of the White House this summer as part of a contest to promote healthy eating.
The first lady is asking children ages 8 to 12 and their parents to create nutritious lunch recipes that represent each of the food groups for “The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge.”
Winners will travel to Washington to sample some of the original dishes at the second White House kids’ “state dinner” luncheon this summer.
The deadline to submit recipes is May 12. Last year’s challenge received more than 1,200 entries.
The contest, created by Epicurious.com, is a partnership among the food website, Mrs. Obama and the departments of Education and Agriculture.