Failure to Properly Label and Securely Store Medications
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified two deficiencies related to medication labeling and storage. For one resident, a nurse was observed preparing medications and an unlabeled, unidentified white pill was found in a plastic medication cup inside the medication cart. The nurse was unable to identify the medication, its dose, the intended recipient, or when it was to be administered. The nurse speculated that it might belong to the resident and could be a dose of levothyroxine, but was not certain. Both the nurse and the Director of Nurses confirmed that leaving medications unlabeled and stored in the medication cart is prohibited and should not occur under any circumstances. In a separate incident, surveyors observed that two tubes of topical antibiotic ointments (Mupirocin and Bacitracin) belonging to another resident were repeatedly left unsecured in a basin on top of the resident's dresser over several days. The Unit Manager confirmed that these medications should not be stored unsecured in the resident's room. These findings indicate a failure to follow facility policies and accepted professional principles for medication labeling and secure storage.