Expired Medications and Unsecured Storage Identified
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that the facility failed to properly store, return, and discard expired medications and supplies in both a medication room and a medication cart. In the medication room, a vial of TB testing solution remained in the refrigerator more than 30 days after being opened, and multiple expired medications and medical supplies, such as blood thinning medication, blood collection needles, wound dressings, and wound gel, were found past their expiration dates. Additionally, a filing cabinet in the medication room contained numerous bottles and cards of medications belonging to residents who had been discharged between five and ten months prior, which had not been returned to the pharmacy or destroyed as required by facility policy. On the middle medication cart, surveyors found the keys left hanging in the narcotic drawer lock with no staff present, and an insulin pen that had expired two days prior was still stored in the cart. Staff interviews confirmed that expired medications and supplies should have been removed and that medications for discharged residents should be returned or destroyed promptly. These actions and inactions were inconsistent with the facility's own policies and accepted professional standards for medication storage and security.