Failure to Secure Medications and Lock Medication Cart
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to ensure that medications and biologicals were securely stored and inaccessible to unauthorized individuals, as required by facility policy. Specifically, an LPN administered oral medications to a resident with spinal stenosis and diabetes, then left an insulin pen unattended on the resident’s overbed table while leaving the room to retrieve a needle. The LPN later acknowledged that the insulin pen should not have been left at the bedside. The Director of Nursing confirmed that medications should not have been left unattended in the resident’s room. Additionally, an unattended and unlocked medication cart was observed next to the nurses’ station. A medication aide confirmed that the cart should have been locked when not attended. The Director of Nursing reiterated that medication carts are to be locked when staff are not present. These actions were not in accordance with the facility’s policies on medication storage and administration, which require all medications to be securely stored and inaccessible to residents and visitors.