Failure to Secure Medication Carts and Remove Expired Supplies
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors identified a deficiency related to the storage and security of medications and medical supplies on the 600 unit. During an observation on the unit, a medication cart was found unlocked and unattended outside a resident room, and the responsible RN acknowledged that he had left the cart in that condition, stating that medication carts should not be left unlocked and unattended. In a separate observation of the 600-unit medication storage room, surveyors found expired Universal Viral Transport testing swabs for Chlamydia, Mycoplasmas, and Ureaplasma in a drawer, with an expiration date of 05/14/25. The RN present confirmed the expiration date and stated that expired medical supplies and equipment should be discarded per policy. Further observations of the 600-unit medication cart revealed an oval light blue pill stamped with "SG" that was loose in a drawer, and the same RN confirmed the presence of the loose pill and stated that medication carts should be free of loose medications. In another observation of a common area, a medication cart was again found unlocked and unattended, containing residents' scheduled oral medications, eye drops, inhalers, and injectable medications. The LPN responsible for that cart confirmed it was her cart and stated that her expectation was to lock the cart when unattended, acknowledging that ingestion of non-prescribed medication by a resident could cause a bad drug interaction and illness. The DON later stated that medication carts should always be locked when nurses are away, kept clean and free of loose medications, and that there should be no expired supplies in medication rooms or carts.
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