Failure to Secure Medication and Treatment Carts
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that medication and treatment carts containing drugs and biologicals were left unlocked and unattended in the facility. Specifically, a medication cart in the 100 hallway was found unlocked during an observation, and this was confirmed by an LPN who acknowledged that carts should be locked when unattended. Additionally, a treatment cart located across from the nurse’s station, accessible to all floors, was also found unlocked and not under staff control. This cart contained various medications, including Aspercreme, coloplast, triamcinolone acetonide, and gentamicin sulfate cream. Interviews with staff and the Administrator confirmed that the expectation is for all medication and treatment carts to be locked when not in use or when unattended. The Administrator reiterated that carts containing medications should not be left unlocked. The observations and staff confirmations indicate that the facility failed to secure medications as required, affecting all 61 residents as identified by the census list.