Improper Medication Handling During Medication Pass
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
During a random observation, an LPN was seen preparing medications at the nurses' station by dispensing pills from medication cards directly into her bare hands and then placing them into medication cups. The LPN also picked up a pill that had fallen onto the desk surface with her bare hands and placed it into a medication cup. When questioned, the LPN stated she was unaware this was an issue after washing her hands. Facility policy, as provided by the DON, clearly states that medications should never be touched with hands during administration. The Nurse Consultant confirmed that at no time should medications be handled with bare hands.