F0761

D

Unsecured Bedside Respiratory Medications for Self-Administering Resident

Port Charlotte, Florida Survey Completed on 03-17-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure safe storage of medications in accordance with its own Clinical Medication Administration policy and accepted professional standards. The policy, revised 12/10/25, states that residents deemed appropriate to self-administer and who wish to keep medications at bedside will be provided with a locked container or drawer to house the medication when not in use. On 3/16/2026 at 9:53 a.m., surveyors observed one resident’s room where a Dulera inhaler and four vials of Ipratropium-Albuterol nebulizer solution were left unsecured and unattended on the bedside table while the resident was not in the room. Review of the resident’s March 2026 MAR showed the Dulera inhaler was ordered twice daily and the Ipratropium-Albuterol solution was administered via nebulizer on 3/14/26. At 9:58 a.m., an LPN confirmed that these medications were not locked and had been left unattended at the bedside, and stated that the resident always self-administered her inhaler and knew how to do it.

This sequence of events demonstrates that the facility did not provide a locked container or otherwise secure the resident’s medications at bedside as required by its policy, resulting in unsecured medications accessible in the resident’s room when the resident was absent.