Expired and Unlabeled Medications Found During Survey
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that the facility failed to ensure proper storage and labeling of medications, as required by professional standards. During inspections of medication storage rooms and carts, expired medications were found, including three bottles of aspirin and an inhaler labeled for a specific resident that was past its expiration date. Additionally, several inhalers were found without documentation of the date they were opened, despite labeling instructions indicating that the medication should be discarded one month after opening or when the dose counter reached zero. In one instance, three opened inhalers for a resident were present in a medication cart, with two of them past the discard date and the third lacking an open date. Staff were unable to confirm which inhaler was currently being administered or when the third inhaler was opened. Interviews with nursing staff and the DON confirmed the observations, with staff acknowledging the presence of expired medications and the lack of proper labeling for opened inhalers. The DON also confirmed that the staff member responsible for overseeing medical records and supplies was on sick leave at the time of the inspection. The findings were based on direct observation and staff interviews, and the issues were present in one of two medication storage rooms and three of four medication carts inspected during the survey.