BACKGROUND: Nursing homes provide long-term care and have residential-oriented hospitalizations characterized by medical, nursing, and social-care treatments for a typically geriatric population. In the current emergency phase, the problem of infections in residential structures for the elderly is taking on considerable importance in relation to the significant prevalence rates of COVID-19. SAFETY IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES: Prevention and control measures for SARS-CoV-2 infection in nursing homes should be planned before a possible outbreak of COVID-19 occurs and should be intensified during any exacerbation of the same. Each facility should identify a properly trained contact person—also external—for the prevention and control of infections, who can refer to a multidisciplinary support committee and who is in close contact with the local health authorities. The contact person should collaborate with professionals in order to prepare a prevention and intervention plan that considers national provisions and scientific evidence, the requirements for reporting patients with symptoms compatible with COVID-19, the indications for the management of suspected, probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19. DISCUSSION: Adequate risk management in residential structures implies the establishment of a coordination committee with dedicated staff, the implementation of a surveillance program for the rapid recognition of the outbreaks, the identification of suitable premises and equipment, the application of universal precautions, the adaptation of care plans to reduce the possibility of contagion among residents, the protection of operators and staff training initiatives.
Expanding frontiers of risk management: care safety in nursing home during COVID-19 pandemic