ABSTRACT
This study reports on a 2022 survey of pediatric hospital librarians in the U.S. and Canada to assess the status of staffing, resources, and services in their libraries. The report compares the data against the MLA Hospital Library Caucus Standards (2022) and the Canadian Hospital Library Association Standards (2020). The report also provides a comparison of the libraries' rankings using the Regional U.S. News & World Report Best Children's Hospitals and Magnet status. This approach is intended to determine how librarians and library services at hospitals that are recognized by the above programs differ from those that are not recognized.
Subject(s)
Librarians , Libraries, Hospital , Libraries, Medical , Library Services , Child , United States , Humans , Hospitals, Pediatric , Canada , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Existing characterizations of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) admissions have occurred primarily in urban settings. This report describes demographic and clinical characteristics of the first COVID-19 patients presenting to a 6-hospital integrated health care system in rural/suburban southcentral Pennsylvania. Medical records of adult patients admitted with COVID-19 between March and May of 2020 were retrospectively reviewed for demographics, symptomatology, imaging, and lab values. Results were largely consistent with previous studies, although gastrointestinal manifestations were more prevalent, with diarrhea reported in 25.4% of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. Nursing home patients represented 10.1% of admissions but accounted for 35.5% of total deaths in our sample. Patients self-identifying as Hispanic were disproportionately affected. Although Hispanic ethnicity was self-reported in only 9% of the community population, Hispanic patients accounted for 34% of admissions. Our data provide a unique focused review of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in a rural/suburban setting.