Articles: hospital-emergency-service.
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Freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) are emergency facilities not connected to inpatient services. The percentage of FSEDs of all EDs grew from 1% in 2001 to 12% in 2017, making FSEDs a substantial subset of US emergency care. The purpose of this study was to describe the individual attributes and environmental conditions of registered nurses working in FSEDs in the US. ⋯ The practice environment of emergency nurses in FSEDs was reported as having positive elements; however, a substantial subpopulation reported serious concerns. FSEDs adhere to some of the standards put forward by the American College of Emergency Physicians, with notable exceptions in the areas of staffing RNs, staffing ancillary staff, and availability of some resources.
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Fewer than one-half of U.S. adults with hypertension (HTN) have it controlled and one-third are unaware of their condition. The emergency department (ED) represents a setting to improve HTN control by increasing awareness of asymptomatic hypertension (aHTN) according to the 2013 American College of Emergency Physicians asymptomatic elevated blood pressure clinical policy. ⋯ Millions of ED patients found to have aHTN are discharged home without diagnosis or treatment. Although management practices follow clinical policy to delay treatment of aHTN, there are missed opportunities to diagnosis aHTN.
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The national pediatric mental and behavioral health crisis dramatically increased emergency department mental and behavioral health visits and changed emergency nursing practice. Acuity assessment determines patient severity level and supports appropriate resources and interventions. There are no established nursing tools that assess pediatric mental or behavioral health acuity in the emergency department setting. Our goal was to develop and implement the novel pediatric emergency nurse Emergency Behavioral Health Acuity Assessment Tool. ⋯ For emergency nurses, the Emergency Behavioral Health Acuity Assessment Tool provided an objective measure of patient acuity. Targeted interventions can improve the care of this population.