F0761

D

Expired and Unsecured Medications Found in Storage Room and Medication Cart

Idaho Falls, Idaho Survey Completed on 03-06-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves failure to ensure medications were not expired and were stored securely and inaccessible to unauthorized staff and residents. Surveyors reviewed the facility’s Medication Storage & Labeling policy, which required medications to be stored in locked compartments, maintained in clean and sanitary conditions, and for expired or discontinued medications to be promptly removed and disposed of per facility policy and DEA guidelines. During an observation in the medication storage room with an LPN present, surveyors found multiple expired items, including three bottles of Rena Vite 100 tablets, two bottles of Melatonin 1 mg, one bottle of Multi Vitamin 1000 tablets, one bottle of Pro Stat Liquid Protein 30 ounces, and two bottles of anti-dandruff shampoo with Selenium Sulfide 1%, all with manufacturer expiration dates that had passed. The CNO acknowledged that these expired medications should have been removed from the medication storage room and had not been.

Additional observations showed that a medication cart on the 100 Hall was left unlocked and unattended, with multiple staff members walking by without addressing the unsecured cart. An RN later approached the cart and stated it should not have been left unlocked when unattended, and the CNO confirmed the cart should not have been left unlocked when the nurse left it. A subsequent audit of the same medication cart with the RN present revealed loose, unidentified pills in the bottom of two drawers, including various capsules and tablets, as well as a bottle of Multi Vitamin with an expired manufacturer date. Both the RN and the CNO stated that pills should not have been loose in the medication cart, that the drawers should have been cleaned to remove loose pills, and that the loose pills should have been destroyed.