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
A deficiency occurred when a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) left the 300-hall medication cart unattended and unlocked while she stored a bottle of enteral feeding formula in the facility's resident pantry. During this time, the cart was stationed at the end of the 300-hall and was not within the nurse's line of sight. Another LVN later locked the cart and confirmed it was assigned to the nurse who had left it unattended. Interviews with the administrator and DON confirmed that facility policy requires medication carts to be secured and locked when not directly attended, and a review of the facility's policy reiterated that medication carts must be locked at all times when out of the nurse's view.