Unsecured Medications Found in Resident Rooms
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified that the facility failed to ensure medications were properly stored in accordance with facility policy and professional standards. Specifically, during multiple observations, medications including a moisture barrier cream, an antifungal medication, and an antibiotic ointment were found unsecured and unattended at the bedsides of two residents in their occupied rooms. The facility's policy requires all medications and biologicals to be stored in locked compartments, and both the LPN and ADON confirmed during interviews that medications should not be left at the bedside and must be stored in a locked medication cart. The first resident involved had diagnoses of dementia, glaucoma, memory deficit, and diabetes, with a BIMS score indicating severe cognitive impairment. The second resident had a history of right humerus fracture, diabetes, and adult failure to thrive, with a BIMS score indicating moderate cognitive impairment. Despite these conditions, medications were left accessible in their rooms on several occasions, as confirmed by staff and observed by surveyors. The DON also acknowledged that medications should not be left unsecured and unattended at the bedside.