Expired IV Medications Found in Medication Storage Room
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that expired intravenous (IV) medications were discarded and not available for resident use, as required by facility policy and professional standards. During an observation in one of the medication storage rooms, surveyors found thirty-one syringes of Heparin lock flush with expiration dates that had already passed. Both the Staff Development Coordinator and the Director of Nursing confirmed that these expired IV medications were present and accessible for use, and acknowledged that such medications should have been discarded according to the expiration date listed on the syringes. The facility's policy specifies that licensed nurses are responsible for checking expiration dates, but this process was not followed, resulting in expired medications being available in the medication storage area.