Unattended Unlocked Medication Cart and Improper Medication Labeling
Penalty
Summary
A medication cart was observed left unlocked and unattended in the hallway by an LVN, who walked away into a resident's room, leaving the cart accessible. The LVN later confirmed that the cart was left unlocked and unattended, acknowledging this was a mistake. The facility's policy and procedure require that medication carts be locked when not in use to prevent unauthorized access, and the DON confirmed that carts should always be locked when unattended. Additionally, an open bottle of Senna syrup was found in a medication cart without an expiration date and not in its original packaging. The LVN present stated that the Senna syrup needed to be discarded due to the missing expiration date and lack of original packaging. The DON and the facility's pharmacist both confirmed that medications should be kept in their original packaging with the expiration date visible, and the facility's policy supports this requirement.