Shocking Statistics

Tis’ the season to plan costumes, shop for candy, watch horror movies, jaunt through the local haunted house and simply get your scare gene tickled. In keeping with that theme, let’s talk shocking statistics, frightening stats that make you shutter!

• US life expectancy declines for third straight year. The average life expectancy in the U.S. has been on the decline for three consecutive years. A baby born in 2017 is expected to live to be 78.6 years old, which is down from 78.7 the year before, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
• NOT buying a quality workstation on wheels can cost you. See how one of our hospitals saved over $3.5 million! Look at the long term costs of your investment.
• One million more nurses are needed in the workforce in order to avoid further nurse shortages in the United States, according to The US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.
• According to the American Nurses Association, 1 out of 4 nurses are assaulted on the job. Hospitals that invest in a quality staff duress system are making an important first step.

• Halloween retail spending was estimated at $9 billion in 2018. Spending a record $86.79 per person, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.
• On any given day, about one in 31 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection. Imagine how automating hand hygiene compliance could help your facility.
• Health spending is projected to grow 0.8 percentage point faster than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year over the 2018-27 period; as a result, the health share of GDP is expected to rise from 17.9 percent in 2017 to 19.4 percent by 2027.
• According to the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, adult obesity rates now exceed 35% in nine states, 30% in 31 states and 25% in 48 states. Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest adult obesity rate at 39.5% and Colorado has the lowest at 23%.
• The United States will see a shortage of up to nearly 122,000 physicians by 2032 as demand for physicians continues to grow faster than supply, according to new data published today by the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges).
• The top five Halloween costumes for adults are witch, vampire, zombie, pirate, and Avengers character. The top five for children were princess, superhero, Batman, Star Wars character, and witch according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey.
• A hospital reported an average of one million alarms going off in a single week.
• Nurses have superpowers. Ability to lift patients twice their size. Bladders of steel to survive beyond-busy shifts. Laser-beam focus to juggle multiple patients. Lightning-quick response to emergencies and unexpected contingencies. Maybe not a study to verify, but they do, I can’t imagine anyone would disagree.

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