Unlicensed Staff Administered Medicated Ointment
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that only licensed personnel administered medications, as required by their policy and professional standards. During an observation, a cup containing a clear ointment was found in a cabinet, and a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) reported that she had applied the ointment to a resident's chest, abdomen, and groin. The CNA stated she had received the ointment from an LPN, who confirmed that the ointment was Mometasone Furoate 0.1%, a medicated steroid cream prescribed for the resident's psoriasis. The LPN indicated that it was common practice in the facility for CNAs to apply medicated ointments, despite the facility's policy stating only licensed or permitted individuals may administer medications. Interviews with the Interim Director of Nursing and the Minimum Data Set Clinical Coordinator confirmed that CNAs were not permitted to apply medicated ointments to residents. The administrator also acknowledged that the LPN should not have given the medicated ointment to the CNA for application. The resident involved had a physician's order for the medicated ointment to be applied once daily for psoriasis, but the administration of this medication by unlicensed staff was not in accordance with facility policy or professional standards.