Expired Medications and Inadequate Refrigerator Temperature Monitoring
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that expired medications, including Trazodone, DuoNeb, Hydrocortisone Suppository, and Bisacodyl Suppository, were present and available for use in a medication cart. These expired drugs were associated with one sampled resident and two unsampled residents. The Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) confirmed during the observation that these medications were expired and should have been discarded, as per the facility's policy, which requires all expired medications to be removed from active supply and destroyed regardless of the amount remaining. Additionally, the facility failed to monitor the temperature of the medication refrigerator twice daily as required by its policy and CDC guidelines when storing vaccines. During an observation in the medication storage room, a bottle of Prevnar 20 vaccine was found stored in the refrigerator. Review of the refrigerator temperature log revealed that temperatures were only checked once daily, a fact confirmed by the ADON. The policy specifies that refrigerator temperatures should be checked at least twice a day, but this was not being followed.