Failure to Remove Expired and Unused Medications From Storage and Use Areas
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency in the facility’s handling and storage of medications, including failure to ensure medications were properly stored, not expired, and appropriately disposed of when unused. The facility’s policy titled “Destruction of Unused Drugs” dated 12/29/25 stated that unused, unwanted, and non-returnable medications should be removed from their storage area and secured until destroyed. During a medication cart audit on 1/28/26 at 8:52 AM on the South Hall with an LPN present, surveyors observed one bottle of Gas Relief on the cart with a manufacturer expiration date of 7/25 printed on the bottle, and the LPN acknowledged the bottle should have been discarded and had not been. Later that day at 2:01 PM, during an audit of the North Hall medication storage room with another LPN present, surveyors observed one tube of barrier cream labeled for a resident discharged on 10/3/25 and another tube of barrier cream labeled for a resident discharged on 11/18/25 among available supplies for resident use. At 4:38 PM, the DON stated that expired and unused medications should have been removed from the medication cart and storage room and had not been, confirming the failure to follow the facility’s medication storage and disposal policy. No specific medical histories or current clinical conditions of the residents for whom the labeled barrier creams were prescribed are provided in the report.
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