Medication Storage Deficiency
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that medications were stored securely and were inaccessible to unauthorized staff, residents, and visitors. During observations, medications were found in the rooms of five residents, including a custom medication bottle, an inhaler, and various creams, none of which had corresponding physician orders for administration or self-administration. These medications were left on bedside tables or in accessible areas, contrary to the facility's policy that requires medications to be stored in locked compartments or administered by nursing staff unless a self-administration assessment is completed. The Director of Nursing confirmed that medications should be stored in treatment or medication carts and administered by nursing staff unless there is a self-administration order, which was not present for any of the residents involved. The facility's policy also mandates that medications should not be left at the bedside and should be securely stored to prevent unauthorized access. The failure to adhere to these protocols resulted in medications being accessible to residents and potentially unauthorized individuals, posing a risk to resident safety.
Plan Of Correction
Residents #265, #63, #12, #164 and #18 medications were removed and properly stored with the permission of the resident or resident representative. Facility residents have the potential to be affected by medications being accessible to unauthorized staff, residents, and visitors. The Director of Nursing and Unit Managers completed 100% observation of each resident's room to ensure medications are not accessible to unauthorized staff, residents, and visitors. Residents that had medications not stored appropriately were removed and stored in the medication carts or residents' locked drawer, if a physician order is in place for self-administration, with the resident or resident representative's permission. The Director of Nursing/Designee will complete 5 random weekly observations of resident rooms to ensure there are no medications that are accessible to unauthorized staff, residents, and visitors. The results of the audits will be tracked, trended, and reported to the monthly Quality Assurance Performance Improvement meeting until sustained compliance is achieved.