Bill in Legislature targets dangerous ‘surgical smoke’

In operating rooms, the smoke created by surgery can be a health hazard for those breathing it in. Such “surgical smoke’’ is a byproduct of the thermal destruction of human tissue by the use of lasers or other devices. According to the CDC, the smoke has been shown to contain toxic gases, vapors and particulates,…

No break from Covid: Metro Atlanta medical officials urge vaccinations

A 70-year-old man recently entered a metro Atlanta hospital after a fall. He subsequently tested positive for Covid, this is why it is import for concierge covid testing for those who have covid symptoms.. So did his daughter, who drove him to the hospital. Eight other family members also tested positive. Branstetter Three of the…

‘Are you going to keep me safe?’ Violence against hospital workers rising

By Bram Sable-Smith and Andy Miller The San Leandro Hospital emergency department, where nurse Mawata Kamara works, went into lockdown recently when a visitor, agitated about being barred from seeing a patient due to covid-19 restrictions, threatened to bring a gun to the California facility. It wasn’t the first time the department faced a gun…

Covid surge eases slightly, but swamped hospitals see no relief

The state’s Covid cases and hospitalizations have dipped over the past week, Georgia health officials have reported. But that drop isn’t relieving the pressure on the front lines of hospitals — both smaller facilities and large urban centers. Take Appling Healthcare, which operates a rural hospital of 34 beds in Baxley, in southeast Georgia. The…

Hospitals unsure of vaccine mandate’s effects, but it may curb nurse job-jumping

Georgia hospital officials were scrambling Friday to gauge the impact of President Biden’s order for health care workers to get vaccinated for Covid-19. The mandate would apply to health care facilities that treat Medicare and Medicaid patients – virtually all hospitals – as well as dialysis centers, surgery centers and home care operations. (Nursing homes…

As low vaccination rate fuels surge, Georgia hospital workers feel frustration, fatigue

The current covid onslaught may be the worst of the four virus surges in one crucial way: The effect on hospital employee morale. Leaders of Georgia hospital systems say the latest covid-19 wave has been very difficult for nurses and other clinical staff partly because it emerged at a time of wide availability of vaccines…

Kemp adding staffing help to bolster hospitals amid COVID surge

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is doubling the staffing help that the state is sending to hospitals grappling with shortages of nurses, respiratory therapists and other workers amid the latest COVID-19 surge. The staffing help expands the supply of temporary workers that the state is providing from 1,300 to 2,800, Kemp told a news conference Monday….

Already understaffed, hospitals swamped by latest COVID surge

Across Georgia on Wednesday, dozens of hospitals were reporting severe ER crowding and various forms of “diversion ” — sending patients elsewhere due to capacity problems. The Delta variant of COVID-19, sweeping through the state, is rapidly increasing case numbers and hospitalizations. But exacerbating the current patient crunch is the ever-worsening shortage of health care…

South Georgia hospitals feel strain as COVID cases skyrocket

To describe the current COVID surge, hospital leaders in South Georgia are using strong words, such as ‘‘scary,’’ ‘‘fear’’ and “overwhelmed.’’ The state’s COVID-19 map shows most of the hottest spots for the latest case surge are in the southern part of Georgia. And some hospital officials in the region say the impact is worse…

State has paid staffing firm $434 million as pandemic deal continues

Georgia’s tab for providing staffing help to hospitals and nursing homes in the pandemic has grown to $434 million. The payments have gone to Jackson Healthcare, a private firm based in Alpharetta. The company, after getting a no-bid contract, has supplied medical staff, from doctors to nurses to respiratory therapists, to dozens of hospitals and…