12% of all our babies will be born prematurely!

Everyone has always known someone who had a preemie (a baby born prior to 37 weeks in the womb) but at this rate, we all know a lot of someones! The Center for Disease Control studied 7 million babies over a decade, in an effort to understand why so many babies are born prematurely and any adverse affects they may experience.

Let's not forget that in most cases a preemie baby is not anyone's fault and in most instances there is nothing that could be done!

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 13 (HealthDay News) -- The quality of care at hospitals that treat poor and underserved patients, often called safety-net hospitals, is lagging well behind hospitals that do not serve these patients, a new study finds.

From working in nursing facilities both in Drama Therapy and as a Admissions Marketer, I am pretty familiar with MRSA - one of the so-called Superbugs seen in hospitals, nursing facilities and other similar institutions.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is commonly known as MRSA and is linked to 94,000 infections and nearly 19,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2005.

The newbie - Clostridium difficile - known as C.diff, is MRSA's nearest competitor in the bacterial infection stakes and is catching up fast. Almost 27,000 people in America died from a C.diff infection in 2005.

By Steven Reinberg
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- Hospitals that perform fewer cardiac bypass operations don't have more deaths following the procedure than hospitals that handle a greater number of bypasses, a new study says.

Doctor referral services are becoming more plentiful, if that's the right word, these days, particularly in our area with so many new clinics and hospitals opening. When we moved here nearly 30 years ago, a referral service was practically non-existent and we went by personal referrals. Now you can even get ratings and reviews that can be informative and useful.

Hospitals are now apparently checking into a patient's credit score to gauge their ability to pay.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/03/18/t...

"Hospitals say it allows them to figure out more quickly which patients qualify for financial assistance programs, and makes them less likely to hound people who can’t or won’t pay. Some consumer advocates warn that the process could lead hospitals to deny elective procedures to patients unlikely to pay."

Do you think checking a patient's financial history is a good idea?

What has been your experience at hospitals during off hours? Have you observed that the quality of care appears to be lower? Or have you noticed that things were maintained extremely well despite lower staffing?

By Amanda Gardner
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Feb. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital patients who have the misfortune of suffering cardiac arrest at night or on the weekend are less likely to survive than those who have a heart attack during weekdays or weekday evenings, new research finds.

WASHINGTON - It's a new way to push for patient safety: Don't pay hospitals when they commit certain errors.

Medicare will start hitting hospitals where it hurts in October, and other insurers are hot on the trail.

That has the nation's hospitals exploring innovative programs to prevent injury and infection: Hand-washing spies. Surgical sponges that sound an alarm if left in the body. Even a room sterilizer that promises to wipe out bacteria left lurking on bedrails.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23224183/

(HealthDay News) - It can be a frightening experience for anyone to go to the hospital, particularly for a young child.

Here are suggestions on how to prepare your child for a hospital stay, courtesy of Children's Hospital Boston:

* Before you go, explain to your child what will happen, what it might be like, and why the child needs to go.
* Use books, pictures and stories to explain the situation to very young children.
* Let your child choose special items from home to take along -- pictures, books, toys or music that may help her feel more comfortable.