Failure to Document Medication Assistant Competencies
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that all Medication Assistants (MAs) had completed and documented competencies as required by policy and regulation. Record reviews for four sampled MAs revealed that none had documentation of completed competencies for 2024 and 2025. The MAs reviewed had hire dates ranging from 2016 to 2025, indicating that both new and existing staff were affected. Interviews with the Director of Nursing and the Regional Director of Operations confirmed that the facility was unable to provide documentation of the required competencies for these staff members. The facility's Training Requirements policy mandates that all staff, including those under contract and volunteers, must have competencies and skill sets consistent with their expected roles. The Medication Aide Procedure Checklist, which outlines the required skills for MAs, was available, but there was no evidence that the competencies had been completed or documented for the four MAs reviewed. The facility had a census of 58 at the time of the survey.