(Press-News.org) Shootings like the one in which a gunman shot a doctor and killed a patient at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in September are "exceedingly rare," but the rate of other assaults on workers in U.S. health care settings is four times higher than other workplaces, conclude two Johns Hopkins emergency physicians after reviewing workplace violence in health settings.
The rate of assault in all private-sector industries in the United States is two per 10,000, compared to eight per 10,000 at health care workplaces, note Gabor D. Kelen, M.D., and Christina L. Catlett, M.D., in a commentary to be published in the Dec. 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
As a result, while hospital shootings get widespread media and other attention, security experts instead should focus their efforts on preventing common everyday assaults in hospitals and other health care facilities, says Kelen, professor and chair of the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine.
In the JAMA piece, Kelen and Catlett say that they determined from a review of violence in health care settings that investing heavily in magnetometers or other expensive high-tech security measures to prevent shootings, while a popular idea, isn't called for, considering how rare shootings are in health care.
"Magnetometers certainly project a protective aura; however they are not a security panacea in most health care settings," say Kelen and Catlett.
In fact, argue the authors, metal detectors may "emote a false sense of security" because they do not detect non-metallic weapons and have no effect on preventing assaults in which no weapon is used. As one reviewed report found, magnetometers installed in one hospital failed to decrease the number of weapons discovered in treatment areas because patients typically bypassed the detectors. "Importantly, there was no change in the rate of assaults," the authors write.
To further underscore their point, Kelen and Catlett found in their review of available data that many shootings at health care facilities, occurred outside, not inside.
In addition to focusing on preventing more common everyday assaults against health care providers in the workplace instead of installing sophisticated screening equipment, the authors argue that the expectation of perfect safety and security in hospitals must align itself to the realities of contemporary American life, with its high rate of violence and incivility. In short, says Kelen, security perfection in hospitals is an unreasonable expectation that can't be met.
INFORMATION:Read the full commentary at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/ or http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/304/22/2530.full
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Using buprenorphine instead of methadone — the current standard of care — to treat opioid-dependent pregnant women may result in healthier babies, suggests new findings from an international team led by Johns Hopkins researchers and published in the Dec. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Babies born to mothers taking buprenorphine instead of methadone to counter heroin and/or prescription opioid addiction were likely to need less morphine to deal with drug withdrawal symptoms, spent half as much time in the hospital after delivery and recovered from neonatal ...
Johns Hopkins scientists have identified a previously unrecognized step in the activation of infection-fighting white blood cells, the main immunity troops in the body's war on bacteria, viruses and foreign proteins.
"It's as if we knew many of the generals, colonels and majors and now we have discovered a new officer that helps the troops carry out the right battle plan," says Joel Pomerantz, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Biological Chemistry in the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences and member of the Institute for Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins.
The discovery, ...
A myriad of inputs can indicate a body's health bombard pancreatic beta cells continuously, and these cells must consider all signals and "decide" when and how much insulin to release to maintain balance in blood sugar, for example. Reporting in Nature Chemical Biology last month, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have teased out how these cells interpret incoming signals and find that three proteins relay signals similar to an electrical circuit.
"Pancreatic beta cells are influenced by hormonal, metabolic and electrical signals and something ...
Using a new gene sequencing method, a team of researchers led by scientists from Johns Hopkins and the National Institutes of Health has discovered a gene that appears to cause some instances of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The finding could lead to novel ways to treat the more common form of this fatal neurodegenerative disease, which kills the vast majority of the nearly 6,000 Americans diagnosed with ALS every year.
Researchers don't know exactly what causes ALS, which destroys the motor neurons that control the movement of all the body's muscles, ...
Whether in a hurricane, tornado, or bomb attack, a leading cause of injury and death is often fast-flying shards of glass. Explosions and high winds can cause windows in buildings to shatter-spewing jagged pieces of glass in every direction.
A Pentagon report on the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, for example, noted:
Two of the 19 deceased had injuries know to be caused by glass fragments that were severe enough to cause death even without other contributing forces. Of the remaining 17 deceased, 10 had glass injuries that were significant and which may ...
Although presidents at some U.S. colleges have argued that lowering the minimum legal drinking age could help curb binge drinking on campuses, a new study in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs suggests such a measure would be ineffective.
In 2008, a group of college presidents and chancellors formed the Amethyst Initiative, a call to rethink the current minimum legal drinking age of 21. They argue that the law encourages underage college students to drink at parties, where binge drinking is common. The main argument states that if students ...
The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull in April this year resulted in a giant ash cloud, which – at one point covering most of Europe – brought international aviation to a temporary standstill, resulting in travel chaos for tens of thousands.
New research, to be published today, Friday 10 December, in IOP Publishing's Environmental Research Letters, shows that lightning could be used as part of an integrated approach to estimate volcanic plume properties.
The scientists found that during many of the periods of significant volcanic activity, the ash plume ...
Diane Marino, talented US jazz artist known in Europe
Take an accomplished singer, a talented pianist, and experienced arranger, combine them, and you get the dynamic and dazzling artist known as Diane Marino.
She combines solos that are sophisticated and elegant with expressive vocal pieces. With a warm and clear voice, Diana Marino reflects emotion in the simplicity of her vocal expression. Her albums combine "standards" with impressive versions of the bossa nova and samba, sung in Portuguese. Diane Marino offers us an "interpretation" in the truest sense and a ...
The estimated cost of damage as a result of the flash floods and blizzards that have swept across the UK during November is GBP1.1 million and rising according to Santander Insurance. According to research from the bank the average cost of damage from weather related damage is costing the UK, on average, GBP36,670 a day in claims.
With extreme weather conditions becoming a regular feature of the UK weather pattern Santander Insurance advises people to be ever more prepared for the worst.
Santander Insurance storm, snow and flood advice:
- Keep all insurance and ...
From The Desk of Love Psychic DJ Ownbey:
Mercury goes retrograde December 10, 2010 to December 29, 2010.
What is Mercury Retrograde?
It is when the planet mercury reverses it course and travels backwards.
What are the potential effects of mercury retrograde?
1. Miscommunications
2. Arguments
3. Mix ups
4. Having to do things over again
5. Lost luggage
6. Minor traffic accidents
7. Car problems
8. Traffic tickets
9. Computer/electronic device malfunctions
Is mercury retrograde good for anything?
Yes, actually it is a very good time for planning, ...
