Medications Left Unattended at Bedside Without Supervision
Penalty
Summary
A licensed nurse left a medication cup containing four pills on a resident's bedside table, rather than directly administering the medications and observing ingestion as required by facility policy. The resident, who had chronic kidney disease stage 4 and was dependent on renal dialysis, stated that it was common for the nurse to leave medications at the bedside so she could take them with coffee when delivered by her CNA. The nurse confirmed this practice, acknowledged it was against facility policy, and admitted that the resident had not been evaluated or care planned for self-administration of medications. Facility policies reviewed indicated that medications are to be administered in a safe and timely manner, with staff remaining with the resident until all medications are taken and observing the resident after administration to ensure the dose is ingested. The DON confirmed that medications should not be left unattended at the bedside and that the nurse should be present during administration. The failure to follow these procedures was observed and confirmed through interviews and record review.