Failure to Perform Hand Hygiene During Medication Administration
Penalty
Summary
Medication Aide C failed to perform required hand hygiene practices while administering medications to multiple residents. Observations showed that after exiting a resident's room, Medication Aide C proceeded to pour and administer medications to additional residents without washing or sanitizing her hands. This pattern continued throughout the medication pass, with no hand hygiene performed before handling medications or between administering medications to different residents. During interviews, Medication Aide C acknowledged forgetting to perform hand hygiene and confirmed awareness of the facility's policy requiring hand hygiene prior to handling and administering medications. Further observations confirmed that Medication Aide C did not wash or sanitize her hands before preparing or administering medications to several residents in succession. The DON and Administrator both stated that facility policy and expectations require nursing staff to perform hand hygiene before handling medications and between resident medication administrations. Review of the facility's hand hygiene policy, revised in October 2023, indicated that all personnel must follow hand hygiene procedures to prevent the spread of infection, specifically before preparing or handling medications and before applying non-sterile gloves.