Unattended Medication Cart Screen Exposed Resident Medical Information
Summary
The facility failed to maintain confidentiality for one resident when an unattended medication cart computer screen was left open in the hallway and displayed private medical information. During a concurrent observation and interview, the screen showed a section of the resident’s MAR, including his code status and medications. The resident had been admitted with diagnoses including chronic kidney disease and gangrene of the left foot, and his MDS indicated a BIMS score of 14 out of 15, showing intact cognition. His admission packet, signed on 4/6/26, included resident rights related to the confidentiality of information, including medical records. During the observation, the LPN who had been administering medications returned to the cart and stated she had partially closed the computer screen flap to conceal the resident’s medical information. She stated she should not have left the unattended computer screen open and that it was a breach of privacy because visitors or other residents could view the resident’s medications. The DON stated nurses are expected to lock the computer screen each time they leave the cart to administer medications, which blanks out the screen, and stated the LPN violated HIPAA by exposing the resident’s private health information to anyone walking down the hallway. The facility policy stated staff are expected to secure patient records containing individually identifiable health information so they are not readily available to those who do not need them.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
Electronic Medical Records Left Visible on Unattended Computers: Two residents' EMRs were left open and visible on unattended computers during wound care and med pass. One resident had HTN, DM, and malnutrition with moderate cognitive impairment, and another resident had acute respiratory failure with hypoxia, HTN, DM2, and Afib with intact cognition. Staff confirmed the screens were left open and available for public view.
A resident's confidential medical information was left visible on the East med cart computer screen at the nurses station when the cart was unattended. An RN confirmed the observation and acknowledged that resident personal and clinical information was exposed to anyone passing by.
A facility failed to keep residents’ personal and medical records secure and confidential. Medical record review showed hospice notes were entered directly into the EMR for three residents, and the regional clinical director stated the hospice previously used was given full access to the EMR for all residents. The Resident Rights policy stated residents have a right to secure and confidential personal and medical records.
Failure to Deliver Resident Mail Promptly: The facility failed to ensure residents could send and receive mail and other materials in a timely manner. In a group interview, multiple residents stated they never received mail or that mail was not distributed on Saturdays because the AD did not work weekends. The AD said she passed mail Monday through Friday and was unsure who handled Saturday delivery, while the Administrator said weekend nursing staff were expected to pass mail. The facility policy required mail delivery within 24 hours of receipt.
An LVN left a resident’s EHR open on a computer atop a med cart and unattended in the hallway while administering meds in the resident’s room. The resident’s health information remained visible and accessible, and the Administrator agreed the confidentiality policy was not followed.
Two cognitively intact male residents with diabetes, one with additional psychiatric diagnoses, received blood glucose checks and, for one resident, an insulin injection in an open area near the nurse’s station rather than in a private setting, exposing their medical treatment to others. Facility leadership, including the DON and Administrator, acknowledged that facility policy and practice required such medical treatments to be performed in residents’ rooms to protect privacy and confidentiality of personal and medical records, and that providing these services in public areas was inconsistent with resident rights and privacy standards.
Electronic Medical Records Left Visible on Unattended Computers
Penalty
Summary
Keep residents' personal and medical records private and confidential was not maintained when electronic medical records were left open and visible to others. Facility policy stated resident health information must remain private and that the MAR must remain closed or covered when not in direct use. Resident #76, who was admitted with diagnoses including hypertension, diabetes, and malnutrition and had a BIMS score of 8 indicating moderate impairment, was observed on 5/11/2026 at 2:37 PM with the wound care cart unattended and the computer on top of the cart open to the resident's electronic medical record and available for public view. The wound care nurse later returned and confirmed the screen had been left open to Resident #76's record. Resident #41, who was admitted with diagnoses including acute respiratory failure with hypoxia, essential hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and had a BIMS score of 13 indicating cognitive intactness, was observed during medication administration on Cart 700 on 5/12/2026 at 7:40 AM when RN A walked away from the medication cart leaving the computer open and the resident's electronic medical record available for public view. A later observation at 8:01 AM showed RN A entering a room while the computer remained open with Resident #41's electronic medical information still visible. RN A confirmed the screen was open and available for public view, and the President of Clinical Operations later confirmed the electronic medical record should not be unattended and left open for public view.
Failure to Protect Confidential Resident Information
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to maintain the confidentiality of a resident's medical information on the East Medication Cart. Facility policy titled Quality of Life - Dignity, dated 1/6/26, stated that staff shall maintain an environment in which confidential clinical information is protected. During an observation on 5/4/26 at 11:38 a.m., the East Medication Cart at the nurses station was left unattended with the computer screen open, and identifiable resident personal and confidential information was visible to anyone passing by. During an interview at the same time, RN Employee E9 confirmed the observation and acknowledged that the facility failed to maintain the confidentiality of residents' medical information.
Failure to Protect Confidential Medical Records
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents’ personal and medical records remained secure and confidential. Medical record review showed that resident #26 received hospice services beginning on 1/2/26, resident #83 received hospice services beginning on 1/21/26, and resident #84 received hospice services beginning on 2/5/26, and the hospice provided documented notes directly into the electronic medical record system. During interview on 5/6/26 at 12:44 PM, the regional clinical director stated the only hospice used prior to a change in operator was given full access to the electronic medical record for all residents. Review of the facility’s Resident Rights policy stated residents have a right to privacy and confidentiality of personal and medical records and the right to secure and confidential records.
Failure to Deliver Resident Mail Promptly
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents had the right to send and receive mail, and to receive letters, packages, and other materials delivered to the facility through means other than the postal service, for 6 confidential residents reviewed for communication privacy rights. During a confidential group interview, 6 of 9 members stated they never received mail, and 3 of 9 residents stated mail was not distributed at the facility on Saturdays because the Activity Director did not work on Saturdays. During interviews, the Activity Director stated she was responsible for delivering mail and that she passed residents' mail Monday through Friday, but was not present on weekends and was not sure whether any staff were assigned to pass mail on Saturdays. She also stated that when she arrived on Monday, mail was in her box to pass out. The Administrator stated her expectation was for mail to be passed on Saturday by weekend staff, and that there was not one specific person assigned to pass mail on the weekend, only nursing staff in general. Record review of the facility policy titled Resident Right to Privacy in Communication stated that mail or other materials should be delivered to the resident within 24 hours of delivery by the postal service, including a post office box, and outgoing mail should be delivered to the post office within 24 hours except when there is no regularly scheduled postal delivery and pick-up service.
EHR Left Open and Visible on Medication Cart
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to keep Resident 132’s electronic health record secure when an LVN left the resident’s health information open on a computer screen on top of a medication cart and unattended in the hallway. During observation on April 29, 2026, the LVN logged into the computer, reviewed Resident 132’s EHR, prepared the medication, and then went into the resident’s room to administer the medications without logging off the computer. Resident 132’s information remained visible and accessible on the medication cart. When asked, the LVN stated she was not supposed to keep the computer unattended. During review of the facility’s Confidentiality Information and Personal Property policy with the Administrator on April 30, 2026, the Administrator agreed the policy was not followed.
Failure to Protect Resident Privacy During Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure residents' rights to personal privacy during medical treatment and personal care for two residents who received glucose monitoring and insulin administration in public areas. On a specified date, staff obtained blood glucose readings for both residents and administered an insulin injection to one resident in an open setting rather than in a private location. These actions occurred despite facility expectations that such care be provided in residents' rooms to protect personal and medical information. Resident #1 was an adult male, initially admitted in January 2025, with a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus and prescription orders for multiple diabetic medications, including Insulin Aspart, Tresiba, metformin, and glucagon. His Quarterly MDS showed a BIMS score of 13, indicating he was cognitively intact, and he required insulin injections six days per week. Physician orders directed Insulin Aspart administration three times daily at set times. On the cited date, his glucose reading and insulin injection were provided in a non-private setting, contrary to his care plan focus on diabetes management and the facility’s stated practice. Resident #2 was an adult male with an initial admission in 2019 and readmission in 2024, with diagnoses including diabetes mellitus, dementia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. His Comprehensive MDS documented a BIMS score of 15, indicating he was cognitively intact, and he required insulin injections seven days per week. He also had orders for Insulin Aspart three times daily. On the same date, his glucose reading was obtained in an open area rather than in his room. Interviews with the DON and Administrator confirmed that facility practice and policy required treatments such as glucose checks and insulin injections to be completed in residents’ rooms to maintain privacy and confidentiality of medical information, and that providing such care in open areas was inconsistent with the facility’s resident rights and privacy policy. Record review of the facility’s undated Resident Rights policy stated that residents have the right to personal privacy and confidentiality of personal and medical records, and that personal privacy includes accommodations, medical treatment, and personal care. The DON stated that privacy protections included administering orders in a private setting and that care needed to be completed in residents’ rooms, describing provision of such care in open areas as a HIPAA violation because it could share diagnosis information with others nearby. The Administrator similarly stated that glucose readings and insulin injections should be completed in residents’ rooms due to privacy concerns and that performing these treatments at the nurse’s station exposed residents’ diagnoses and treatments. Documentation from the HR coordinator showed the last facility-wide in-service on resident rights occurred in November 2025.
Trusted data from CMS and state health departments
Every citation, penalty and Plan of Correction is sourced from public CMS records (latest release June 24, 2026) and official state health department websites — never guesswork.
In your survey window? See what surveyors are citing.
The Survey-Prep Report maps your facility's risk from 12 months of CMS and state citation data — what's being cited around you and what to check first. $129 one-time.