Unsecured Medications and Unlocked Storage Room
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a resident environment free from potential accident hazards on one of two nursing units observed, specifically the third floor. During an observation, 12 blister packs of medication were found left unattended on a medication cart outside the nurse's station, with several residents sitting nearby. Additionally, the medication storage room on the same floor was found propped open with an ointment bottle, allowing access to injectable medications and vials of insulin. Facility policy requires all drugs and biologicals to be stored in locked compartments or rooms, and medication carts are not to be left unattended. An LPN confirmed that both the unattended medications and the unlocked medication storage room were not in compliance with facility policy and should have been secured to prevent resident access.