Medication Cart Left Unattended and Unlocked
Penalty
No penalty information released
The penalty, as released by CMS, applies to the entire inspection this citation is part of, covering all citations and f-tags issued, not just this specific f-tag. For the complete original report, please refer to the 'Details' section.
Summary
Surveyors observed that a medication cart was left unattended and unlocked in a hallway, providing unrestricted access to medications. This observation was made in the presence of two surveyors, and the issue was confirmed by a registered nurse, who acknowledged that the cart was not secured while unattended. The Director of Nursing also confirmed that facility policy requires medication carts to be locked and secured when not attended by staff. A review of the facility's policy, last updated in November 2024, reiterated that drugs and biologicals should not be left unsecured or unattended, and that medication carts must be kept locked when unattended.