Failure to Properly Label and Sanitarily Store Medications
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that stock medication bottles used for two residents were not labeled with the date they were opened, as required by facility policy and professional standards. During medication administration, a medication aide prepared and administered medications from bottles that lacked an opening date, and both the aide and the Assistant Director of Nursing confirmed that the bottles should have been dated but were not. The facility's policy specifies that stock medications must include the original manufacturer's or pharmacy-applied label and the expiration date, but this was not followed in these instances. Additionally, the medication storage room was found to be unsanitary during inspection. Observations included dried black splatters and debris on the floor, a sink with a thick layer of brown and black sticky substance with black fuzzy particles, and counters with dried liquid splatters in the area where medications were stored. Both the Assistant Director of Nursing and the Regional Nurse Consultant confirmed that the medication storage room was not clean or sanitary, despite facility policy requiring daily cleaning to ensure proper sanitation.