Failure to Secure and Properly Store Medications, Including Expired Drugs
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to ensure that medications and biologicals were properly stored and secured, as required by facility policy and professional standards. During observations, medications were found unsecured and unattended in three resident rooms. In one instance, a medication cup containing hydrocortisone and betamethasone creams was left at the bedside of a cognitively intact resident, with a tongue depressor in the cup. In another case, a cognitively intact resident had a medication cup with several pills left in the room, which the resident picked up while preparing to go to dialysis. In a third instance, a tube of wound dressing cream was found on the bed of a resident who did not have an order for any wound cream. Staff interviews confirmed that these medications should not have been left unattended or unsecured in resident rooms. Additionally, expired medications were found in one of the medication storage rooms. Specifically, promethegan suppositories with an expiration date several months prior were discovered in the South 2 Medication Storage Room. Staff interviews, including with the DON and an RN, confirmed that expired medications should not be present in medication storage areas. These findings demonstrate a failure to adhere to medication storage and security protocols as outlined in facility policy.