Unattended, Unlocked Medication Carts on Multiple Units
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to store medications in a safe and secure manner as required by its own policy and professional standards. Surveyor observation on 01/08/26 at 8:15 A.M. showed that a medication cart on the third floor North hall was left unlocked with no staff present. A resident was seated nearby and additional residents were present in the hallway. At 8:20 A.M., an LPN returned to the cart and acknowledged that she had left it unlocked while she went down the hall to perform blood sugar checks. A second observation on 01/12/26 at 9:33 A.M. showed another medication cart on the second floor near the nurse station left unlocked and unattended, with residents present in the halls and near the nurse station. At 9:37 A.M., the same LPN confirmed that the cart had been left unattended while she stepped away. The facility’s written policy, revised April 2007, states that all drugs and biologicals must be stored in a safe, secure, and orderly manner, and that all compartments containing drugs and biologicals must be locked when not in use, and that carts used to transport such items must not be left unattended if open or otherwise available to others. The facility identified that this failure had the potential to affect most residents on the second and third floors, excluding those specifically noted as requiring assistance with mobility.
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