Expired RN License Leads to Deficiency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to meet professional standards of care by allowing a Registered Nurse (RN), identified as Employee E4, to work with an expired license. Employee E4 was hired on November 4, 2024, and a review of his license verification on December 17, 2024, revealed that his license had expired on October 31, 2024, and was on probation. Despite this, Employee E4 continued to perform duties as a med cart nurse and RN supervisor, providing medications and completing documentation in residents' medical records, which was outside his legal scope of practice due to the expired license. The Director of Nursing (DON) confirmed during an interview that the facility did not provide care and services in accordance with accepted standards of practice. The facility's RN job description requires licensed personnel to practice nursing only with a valid registration certificate, which was not adhered to in this case. This oversight indicates a failure in the facility's responsibility to ensure that all nursing staff maintain current and valid licenses to practice, as required by professional and legal standards.
Plan Of Correction
1. Registered Nurse Employee E4 no longer works at the facility. 2. The Human Resource Director/designee will audit current licensed staff to ensure licenses are active and in good standing. 3. The Human Resource Director will be re-educated on facility policies by the Nursing Home Administrator/designee. 4. The Nursing Home Administrator/designee will audit new hires weekly for four weeks and monthly for three months to ensure licensed staff licenses are in good standing. Outcomes will be reported to the Quality Assurance Performance Improvement Committee for review and recommendations.