Expired Medications and Supplies Found in Disaster Box
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to ensure that medications, syringes, hand sanitizers, and wound cleanser stored in a disaster box in the Station 1 medication room were not kept beyond their expiration dates. During the inspection, expired items found included a bottle of acetaminophen, a bottle of ibuprofen, wound cleanser, insulin syringes, and hand sanitizers, with expiration dates ranging from 2019 to 2024. An LVN confirmed during an interview that expired items should not be present in the disaster box, acknowledging the risk of accidental administration. The DON also stated that expired medications are not given to residents. Review of the facility's policy indicated that outdated drugs or biologicals are to be returned to the dispensing pharmacy and destroyed as indicated.