Background: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1.7 million patients per year develop hospital-associated infections (HAI), of whom 99,000 die. HAIs financially impact the United States healthcare system with an estimated cost of $6 billion per year. At Platte Valley Medical Center (PVMC) in 2013, the urinary catheter utilization ratio and rates [...]

Background: Communication breakdown plays a part in the majority of adverse events in healthcare. Physician to physician handoffs are particularly prone to communication errors, yet have been shown to be more complete when systematized according to a standardized bundle. However,  the degree to which individual elements of this bundle, including written versus verbal handoffs, contribute [...]

Case Presentation: A 58- year-old female presented with vomiting, dizziness, and a blood pressure of 80/60 mmHg. Laboratory: serum creatinine 3.1 mg/dl (baseline 1 mg/dl), BUN 34 mg/dl (baseline 10 mg/dl), corrected calcium 12.3 mg/dl, low PTH , normal 25-OH vitamin D, and normal PTH-related protein. Two months prior, serum calcium was normal and 25-OH [...]