> The American Nurses Association expressed alarm at proposed cuts to nursing education in the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution that would chop funding for Title VII and VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs by 29 percent of 2010 amounts. The programs help recruit new nurses, promote career advancement within the field and allocate nurses to areas facing critical shortages. Press release
> A fire in a mechanical room at Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, Fla. forced 30 surgical patients to move to safer parts of the hospital, the Palm Beach Post reports. Article
> Seventy-one percent of the medical devices subject to recalls between 2005 and 2009 were cleared by a less stringent approval system that did not require testing on patients, the Wall Street Journal reports. One-third of the recalled devices were cardiovascular products. Article
> One in four physicians surveyed said poor patient understanding of the severity of a disease was "almost always a barrier" to treating Hispanic patients, according to a survey conducted for the Jeffrey Group and KCI Partners. Press release
> Most hospitals fail to comply with current language access regulations that require federally funded hospitals to provide access to competent language services, according to a white paper on the new Joint Commission standard on patient-centered communication. White Paper
And Finally... Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost causes, answered his prayers. Article