Failure to Maintain Medication Refrigerator and Glucometer Quality Control
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to maintain essential equipment in a clean and safe operating condition. Specifically, the medication refrigerator in Medication Room A, used to store residents' medications, was found to have thick ice buildup in the frozen storage area, which did not have a separate door. Multiple medications for several residents were stored in this refrigerator. The RN confirmed that the refrigerator was only being defrosted monthly and acknowledged that more frequent defrosting was needed. The DON was informed and acknowledged these findings. Additionally, the facility failed to ensure that quality control checks were consistently performed for the glucometer in Medication Cart C. During inspection and document review, it was found that there was no documentation to show that glucometer calibration was performed on two specific dates, despite staff stating that calibration was supposed to occur nightly and be recorded. The DON was also informed and acknowledged this deficiency.