Improper In-Room Disposal of Prescribed Medication
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure secure disposal of medication when a medication aide (MA-A) improperly discarded a resident’s prescribed drug in the resident’s room trash. Record review showed the resident was admitted on 5/27/2022 and had an active order for Potassium Chloride, indicated as a nutritional supplement, with a start date of 4/16/2025. The facility’s Discarding and Destroying Medication policy, revised November 2022, stated that non-controlled and Schedule V (non-hazardous) controlled substances are to be disposed of in accordance with state regulations and federal guidelines. On 2/18/2026 at 9:42 AM, MA-A prepared the resident’s morning medications, including Potassium Chloride, and carried them into the resident’s room in a medication cup, then mixed the medications into the resident’s pudding. When the resident stated they did not want to take the Potassium Chloride tablet, MA-A scooped the tablet out of the pudding and placed it into the trash can in the resident’s room, then showed the surveyor that the medication cup was empty and left the room without removing the trash bag containing the Potassium Chloride tablet. At 1:15 PM the same day, the Regional Nurse Consultant confirmed this was not the correct way to dispose of medications.
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