Expired Medication Aide Certification Not Identified Before Medication Administration
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that a medication aide had a current and valid medication aide certification before allowing her to administer medications. Personnel records showed that the medication aide was hired and that her medication aide certification expired on a specific date, yet timecard records indicated she continued working from the date of expiration through a later date. An observation documented that she was actively passing medications from the 100–400 medication cart during this period. Review of the Texas Nurse Aide Registry/Electronic Monitoring Registry showed the facility had checked the registry and that her certificate was listed as expired. The facility’s job description for a certified medication aide required a current medication administration certification from Texas, and the facility’s medication administration policy stated that only persons licensed or permitted by the state may prepare, administer, and document medications. In an interview, the medication aide stated she had been working at the facility off and on since 2015 and that her certification had been expired since December due to issues with her renewal payment. She reported that when she checked the TULIP database it showed she was still active with no new date, and she stated she did not know her certification had expired. She also stated that it was the DON’s responsibility to ensure her certification was current, although usually it was the staff member’s responsibility. In a separate interview, the DON stated she maintained a list of all medication aide certificate expiration dates and acknowledged that the medication aide’s certification had expired and that the aide continued to work while expired. The DON reported that during this time she kept checking TULIP, which showed the certification as expired but active, and acknowledged understanding the risk to residents of having a medication aide pass medications with an expired certification.
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