They call it “alarm fatigue.’’ With the use of monitors rising, their beeps can become so relentless, and false alarms so numerous, that nurses become desensitized — sometimes leaving patients to die without anyone rushing to their bedside.
No easy solutions for alarm fatigue
Howard Warner has blamed the death of his mother, Madeline (right), on an ignored heart monitor alarm, an all-too-common problem in hospitals.
Snowbanks show their dark side
Snowbanks along roads and sidewalks receded to free all manner of detritus and grimy garbage.
Researchers try to decipher patterns of super snowy spells
Roof collapses prompt hard look at building codes
Globe Editorial Caved roof, collapsed standards
Wal-Mart’s unlikely philanthropy chief
Margaret A. McKenna leads the Walmart Foundation, a perch that gives her one of the biggest jobs in US philanthropy. Having started out as a civil rights lawyer enforcing labor laws, McKenna said she
had to think long and hard about taking a job.
End of grand Greenway vision
The state’s drawn-out effort to bring cultural and community institutions to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway can now be declared dead, with the YMCA of Greater Boston becoming the last of four selected builders to cancel plans for a facility on the downtown park system.
Fashion designer rides celebrity wave
After Lady Gaga plucked a black jersey dress designed by Marblehead native Sally LaPointe to wear at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the designer has found herself on the brink of the big time.
Fashion designer rides celebrity wave
After Lady Gaga plucked a black jersey dress designed by Marblehead native Sally LaPointe to wear at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the designer has found herself on the brink of the big time.
In a move toward ending its long struggle over parish closings, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston said yesterday that it will solicit public comment on a plan to remove the sacred standing of seven closed churches, a change that under canon law would allow the buildings to be converted into other uses or sold.
Insurer's mailing draws criticism
Insurer's mailing draws criticism
A mailed solicitation from HomeServe USA looks like a utility bill, with a "Pay This Amount" box and the warning "Payable Upon Receipt." There is a demand for the "Total Due" and even a National Grid Energy Services logo. Yet this is not a bill.
Lawmakers in N.H. push for repeal of gay marriage
Lawmakers in N.H. push for repeal of gay marriage
Two years after New Hampshire and Maine capped a wave of New England states that legalized same-sex marriage, the foothold many advocates believed they had established in the region looks less secure.
Public stations could lose a big supporter
Public stations could lose a big supporter
House Republicans believe they are on the verge of voting to end federal subsidies for public broadcasting, which includes funding for radio and television stations across the country, including Boston's WBUR and WGBH.
Ascent of the social-media climbers
Ascent of the social-media climbers
Klout.com is one of a number of new status-measuring tools aimed at making social networking more like high school than it already is. Sites such as Klout and PeerIndex.net take public information from Twitter, and sometimes Facebook and LinkedIn, to determine a person's influence on social media.
