Unsecured Medications Found at Nurse's Station
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors observed that medications and biologicals were not stored in accordance with accepted professional principles on the 5th floor of the facility. Specifically, a cardboard box containing multiple medications labeled with residents' names and marked for return was found under a table at the nurse's station, which was an open area with walk-in entry. The box was accessible to unlicensed staff and residents, including a resident who was observed wandering near the area. The medications included various prescription drugs such as sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim, memantine, metformin, quetiapine, ketorolac tromethamine, mirtazapine, atorvastatin calcium, and loratadine. The facility's policy required that all medications be secured, temperature controlled, and accessible only to authorized personnel, with storage in a locked cabinet inaccessible to residents and visitors. Interviews with nursing staff and the Director of Nursing confirmed that the medications in the box were intended for return to the pharmacy and should have been stored in the medication room, not left unsecured at the nurse's station. Staff acknowledged that the medications were not properly secured and that the area was accessible to residents, some of whom were confused and could potentially ingest the medications. The Director of Nursing stated that the medications had been scanned by the night shift nurse and should have been put back in the medication room, reiterating that all medications must be secured for resident safety.