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Long-term care and skilled nursing facilities care for a patient population particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. This article discusses an analysis of a large nursing home system and gaps in its workforce safety program. Problems highlighted included communication practices that fall short of what is needed to assure staff safety as they care for nursing home residents.

Emergency medical services are often provided under chaotic circumstances that may contribute to failure. This story highlights a series of esophageal intubation errors and efforts to minimize this “never event” across the state of Rhode Island. Improvement strategies discussed include practice restrictions for EMT personnel and use of less invasive, less risky processes to provide oxygen as an alternative to intubation, which may reduce esophageal intubation errors

Parenteral nutrition errors can result in patient malnutrition and harm. Reporting on how insufficient understanding of malnutrition contributes to its presence in health care, this news article suggests that both general guidelines and tailored approaches to nutrition are necessary to keep hospitalized patients safe. Improvements in addressing the complicated needs of patients who are older or have cancer illustrate progress made toward the effective delivery of nutrition.

This article analyzed data on dietary errors submitted to a state reporting program and found that more than 60% of patients received trays containing food items to which they were allergic. Recommendations to prevent such errors include standardizing practices and using whiteboards as communication tools.

This news article explores the validity of recent reports by an interdisciplinary consortium that one in three hospitalized patients is malnourished and suggests further research is required to understand this potential patient safety problem.

This announcement reports on mistaken intravenous administration of breast milk and provides recommendations to prevent parenteral administration of enteral nutrition.