A Penn State researcher has developed a bandage material made from microbial cellulose that the body can absorb. He has developed a method to incorporate enzymes with the bandage that break down the cellulose in a controlled way, according to the Penn State Live news source. In 2007, Jeffrey Catchmark, associate professor of agricultural and ...

We all know that washing our hands is the best way to guard against the spread of germs. But there are several other measures that can also help protect us from contamination.  In this Washington Post article, health care professionals share some other tips on how they stop the spread of infection.

Two new studies from The New England Journal of Medicine indicate that nursing home residents may be receiving futile care measures at the end of their lives. In one study, doctors examined health records of 3,702 nursing-home residents across the nation who started dialysis between 1998 and 2000. While the average age was 73, many had other ...

With the H1N1 virus lurking in our office (so far, one confirmed case), experts agree that aside from vaccination, the best defense is thorough handwashing. Check out this video from the Washington Post that shows proper handwashing technique. We hear these messages all the time, but truthfully, we could all probably do a better job ...

Issues of long-term care have dominated public concern since President Clinton proposed his health care reform plan in 1993. Efforts towards a universal long-term care policy address priority areas of aging and disability in various ways such as the use of Medicaid waivers. Problems of long-term care, such as the nature of entitlement programs, ...

A letter to the editor in today's Philadelphia Inquirer details the reasons why two Philadelphia-area registered nurses are rejecting the swine flu vaccine after attending a conference on the subject. Read the letter to the editor here. Given the recent push to vaccinate, this statement is sure to become controversial. One of the points ...

If you suffer a massive heart attack and need expensive medical care in your golden years, it is likely that Medicare will cover your bills. But if you have the bad luck to contract Alzheimer's disease, sorry, you're on your own. Howard Gleckman's new book Caring for Our Parents could not be better timed. It looks at all the places-nursing ...

Most people figure that work-related injuries are just part of the job for nurses. With all that lifting, turning, repositioning and transferring that nurses do, injuries abound. In fact, a report on the American Nurses Association Web site indicates that an estimated 12 percent of nurses leave the profession every year because of back injuries ...

I can vividly remember the day I learned how to pass medications from a very large rolling medication cart.  It was much different from the way I had been taught to pre-pour medications in a med-room.  We used those little med cards that matched the orders on the kardex, filled medication cups, placed the cup and cards on trays and ...

So, the basic debate in the U.S. over healthcare is not really about costs or the freedom to choose one's own doctor. The facts are clear: The World Health Organization rates the U.S. 37th (!) in healthcare while we spend a much higher percentage of our Gross Domestic Product on healthcare than Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, or other ...