Failure to Implement Antibiotic Stewardship Program
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to implement the core elements of antibiotic stewardship as part of its infection prevention and control program. Specifically, a review of the Infection Control Surveillance Log from January 2024 through March 2025 revealed missing documentation for several months, including the absence of organism identifications, duration of antibiotic prescriptions, and the specific infections treated for February, April, May, September, November, and December 2024. This lack of documentation meant that the facility was not adequately tracking or trending infections and antibiotic use as required by its own policies. An administrative nurse reported that upon assuming responsibility for the infection control program, she discovered that the previous infection preventionist had not been completing the monthly antibiotic stewardship surveillance logs. The facility's policies, dated October 2021, outlined the need for monitoring antibiotic use and conducting surveillance to identify infection trends and guide interventions. However, these procedures were not followed, resulting in incomplete records and a failure to ensure effective antibiotic stewardship for the residents.