Medication Storage and Self-Administration Deficiency
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that all drugs and biologicals were stored in locked compartments under proper temperature controls, as evidenced by the case of a resident who was observed to have multiple bottles of eye medications on their bedside table. The resident, who had diagnoses including Dry Eye Syndrome and Cataract, was seen self-administering expired Refresh Liquigel eye drops without a physician's order or an assessment to self-administer medications. The facility's policy required that medications be stored in an orderly manner and locked when not in use, and prohibited the use of expired medications. Interviews with facility staff, including Licensed Practical Nurses and the Director of Nursing Services, revealed that the resident did not have a physician's order to self-administer medications and should not have had access to any medications, especially expired ones, in their room. The pharmacist confirmed that expired medications should not be used as they may become less effective. The deficiency was identified during a recertification survey, highlighting a lapse in the facility's adherence to its medication storage policy.
Plan Of Correction
Plan of Correction: Approved February 12, 2025 **NOTE- TERMS IN BRACKETS HAVE BEEN EDITED TO PROTECT CONFIDENTIALITY** A. Immediate Corrective Action: 1. On 1/22/25, the two Refresh Liquid Eye Drops and the two [MEDICATION NAME] Eye Lubricant were removed from resident #31 room with explanation provided to resident. The expired Refresh Liquid Eye Drops were discarded. 2. Resident #31 was assessed for self-administration as per request. The resident’s wishes for self-administration were assessed by the Interdisciplinary Care Plan Team and was deemed to be capable of self-administration. The attending physician was made aware and orders received for self-administration of Refresh Eye Drops. A locked box and key were issued to resident. The plan of care was updated to include self-administration. 3. The Licensed Practical Nurse #5 was counseled and re-educated to ensure that medications are stored properly, residents are promptly evaluated for potential for self-administration, a physician order [REDACTED]. B. Identification of Others: 1. All residents’ rooms were surveyed for risk of same. Individual request for self-administration and proper storage of medications were assessed by the Interdisciplinary Care Plan Team. Orders were received from the attending physician and orders updated as necessary to include self-administration. 2. All storage areas were inspected for expired medications. No expired medications were identified. C. Systematic Review to Prevent Re-Occurrence: 1. The facility Self-Administration Policy and Procedure was reviewed by the Interdisciplinary Care Plan Team. 2. The Director of Nursing developed an audit tool to audit 10 residents for expired medications, safe storage of medications, evaluation of residents to self-administer medications, and physician orders [REDACTED]. The audit tool will be completed weekly for 3 months and then quarterly for one year thereafter. 3. The DNS/Designee will be responsible for completion of audit. 4. All nursing staff were re-educated regarding expired medications, safe storage of medications, evaluation for self-administration, and physician orders [REDACTED]. D. Quality Assurance: 1. The DNS/Designee will report on the findings quarterly at the QAPI meeting. 2. Negative findings will be immediately addressed by the DNS/Designee with onsite teaching/in-service, and disciplinary action as necessary. 3. The DNS/Designee is responsible to ensure correction of this deficient practice.
Penalty
Resources
Below are regulatory guidelines relevant to this citation:
A resident with intact cognition and multiple diagnoses, including AFib, HF, stroke, anxiety, and depression, was permitted to self-administer nebulizer treatments after staff setup without an IDT self-administration assessment. The EMR lacked documentation of the resident’s competency and safety to manage the nebulizer, including understanding the medication, following directions, operating the equipment, recognizing side effects, and storing the medication and equipment. Staff and the DON confirmed the assessment had not been completed before the self-administration order was implemented.
Unsafe bedside medication storage and self-administration were identified for two residents. One resident with COPD and OSA had an unlabeled inhaler and chewable tablets left at the bedside even though she was not assessed as safe for SAM and had no order allowing bedside storage. Another resident, who was also not safe for SAM and had a history of hoarding OTC medications, had Biofreeze left at the bedside and was observed applying it herself. Staff and facility policy stated bedside medications were only allowed when a resident was assessed as safe for SAM and had the proper provider order.
A resident with paraplegia and cognitive communication deficit, but assessed as cognitively intact, was observed keeping and self-applying labeled nystatin cream at bedside and self-administering other medications left in a cup per physician order. The care plan stated the resident could self-administer medications and required quarterly assessments, and a prior self-administration review months earlier had approved several oral supplements and a sleep aid for unsupervised self-administration. However, no subsequent self-administration assessments were completed, contrary to the facility’s policy requiring quarterly interdisciplinary reassessment to ensure medications remained appropriate and safe for self-administration.
Surveyors determined that a resident with multiple complex conditions, including quadriplegia, emphysema, and sleep apnea, was self-administering a prescribed Proventil HFA (albuterol) inhaler kept at the bedside without a documented self-administration of medication assessment. Record review confirmed the absence of the required assessment, and the DON acknowledged that the resident should not have been self-administering medication without it. This failure created the potential for harm if the resident took too much or too little of the inhaled medication or experienced adverse effects such as oral thrush.
A resident with multiple neurologic and psychiatric diagnoses, intact cognition, and unilateral functional limitations was found with an open box of lubricant eye drops stored at the bedside without any documented assessment for self-administration or prescriber’s order for self-administration or bedside storage, contrary to facility policy. Observations on multiple days confirmed the eye drops remained at the bedside, while staff interviews showed that CNAs and the IP recognized that residents were generally not to self-administer medications and that bedside medications required assessment and orders. The Administrator confirmed that the resident should not have had eye drops in the room and that residents with bedside medications are typically assessed for self-administration, and staff acknowledged that unsecured eye drops at the bedside could be accessed or ingested by other residents and cause harm.
A resident with mild cognitive impairment, multiple medical diagnoses, and a physician order for scheduled DuoNeb nebulizer treatments was repeatedly observed using the nebulizer without staff present, including times when the mask lay on the bed or floor while the machine was running or was held far from the mouth. The care plan documented impaired cognition and the need for supervision and task segmentation, and an intervention to administer treatments as ordered, yet there was no documented self-medication assessment, no care plan direction for self-administration, and no physician order authorizing self-administration, contrary to facility policy requiring an IDT assessment and documentation before allowing self-administration of medications.
Missing Self-Administration Assessment for Nebulizer Use
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure an interdisciplinary team (IDT) assessment was completed before allowing a resident to self-administer nebulizer treatments. The resident had intact cognition and required assistance with ADLs, and diagnoses included atrial fibrillation, heart failure, BPH, stroke, malnutrition, anxiety disorder, and depression. Physician orders showed Ipratropium-Albuterol nebulizer treatments three times daily, and the EMR later included an order permitting the resident to self-administer nebulizer treatments after staff setup, but there was no evidence that an IDT self-administration assessment had been completed first. The record also lacked documentation showing the resident’s competency and safety to self-administer the nebulizer medication and treatment, including the ability to understand the medication purpose, follow directions, safely operate the equipment, recognize side effects or adverse reactions, and ensure safe administration and storage. During observation, the resident had nebulizer equipment and medication available in the room. The resident stated staff set up the medication cup and left while the treatment ran, then returned to ensure the machine was turned off; staff cleaned the nebulizer mask afterward. An LPN and RN confirmed the treatment was set up by staff, and the RN and DON stated a self-administration assessment should have been completed before the resident was permitted to self-administer medications.
Unsafe Bedside Medication Storage and Self-Administration
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure medications were administered safely for 2 residents who had been assessed as unable to safely self-administer medications. One resident had COPD, OSA, and a functional decline related to a right scapula and rib nonunion. Her care plan and provider orders included calcium carbonate antacid, but the EMR lacked orders allowing self-administration or bedside medication storage, and her SAM assessment indicated she did not want to self-administer medications and agreed to have them administered by the facility. During observation, she had an unlabeled inhaler and a cup with two chewable tablets on her bedside table, and an LPN confirmed the medications were a Symbicort inhaler and Tums that should not have been left at the bedside because she was not assessed as safe for SAM. The second resident’s quarterly MDS indicated cognitive intactness, but provider orders stated she may not self-administer medication, and the SAM assessment indicated she was not safe to self-administer medications and had hoarded and used multiple OTC medications. Despite this, Biofreeze topical analgesic was observed in a bin on her bedside table on multiple occasions, and the resident stated she applied it herself. A nursing assistant confirmed the Biofreeze was in the room because the resident used it when needed. Staff interviews and facility policy stated medications should not be left at the bedside unless the resident had been assessed as safe for SAM and had the required provider order.
Failure to Complete Required Quarterly Self-Administration Medication Assessments
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to complete required quarterly assessments for a resident who was permitted to self-administer medications per the care plan and facility policy. Surveyors observed a tube of nystatin cream with a medication label on the bedside table of a resident with diagnoses including paraplegia and cognitive communication deficit; the resident stated she applied the cream herself and knew how to use it. The nystatin cream was again observed at the bedside on a subsequent day. The resident’s Quarterly MDS indicated she was cognitively intact but had limited range of motion in both upper and lower extremities. A prior Medication Self-Administer Review dated several months earlier documented that the resident was able to self-administer several oral supplements and a sleep aid unsupervised. Record review showed no additional self-administration assessments had been completed after the November assessment, despite a care plan initiated in early January stating the resident was able to administer medications to herself and directing staff to assess her for self-administration of medications quarterly. Physician’s orders included nystatin cream to be applied to the groin twice daily and as needed, and an order allowing the resident to self-administer medications brought to her by nursing staff, with the resident requesting pills be left in a cup at the bedside. During interview, the DON confirmed there were no other self-administration assessments completed. The facility’s Self-Administration of Medication policy required that medications be assessed for appropriateness and safety for self-administration and that the interdisciplinary team conduct reassessments quarterly and with any significant change in condition to ensure safe self-administration remained feasible.
Failure to Assess Resident for Self-Administration of Inhaler Medication
Penalty
Summary
Surveyors found that the facility failed to complete a self-administration of medication assessment for a resident who was self-administering an inhaler. The resident had multiple diagnoses, including quadriplegia, muscle weakness, a stage 4 pressure ulcer of the right buttock, anxiety, depression, emphysema, and sleep apnea, and had been readmitted to the facility with a physician’s order for Proventil HFA (albuterol sulfate) inhalation aerosol, 2 puffs by mouth every 4 hours as needed for shortness of breath, with instructions to rinse the mouth after use. During observation, the resident’s inhaler was seen on the bedside table, indicating self-administration, but review of the medical record showed no documented self-administration of medication assessment. In an interview, the DON confirmed that the resident should not have been self-administering medication without such an assessment and acknowledged that the assessment should have been completed. This deficient practice created the potential for harm if the resident took too much or too little of the inhaled medication, or suffered adverse effects such as oral thrush, due to lack of assessment. The deficiency was cited under the requirement to allow residents to self-administer drugs only when clinically appropriate and after proper assessment, and it was cross-referenced to F761.
Failure to Assess and Obtain Orders for Self-Administration and Bedside Medication Storage
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to follow its own policies for self-administration of medications and bedside medication storage for one resident. The facility’s policies require that residents who wish to self-administer medications must be assessed by the interdisciplinary team for cognitive, physical, and visual ability, and that a prescriber’s order for self-administration and bedside storage must be present in the medical record and reflected on the MAR and medication label. For the resident in question, who had diagnoses including cerebral infarction, major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms, PTSD, hemiplegia and hemiparesis, speech and language deficits, and cerebral atherosclerosis, the EHR showed no assessment for self-administration and no physician order for self-administration or bedside storage, despite active ophthalmic medication orders. The resident’s MDS documented intact cognition with a BIMS score of 15, use of corrective lenses, and functional limitations in range of motion on one side of both upper and lower extremities. Surveyor observations on two consecutive days found an open box of lubricant eye drops on the resident’s bedside table. Staff interviews revealed inconsistent understanding and enforcement of the facility’s policies. A CNA stated that residents did not self-administer medications and that only nurses administered them, but also reported that when she previously reported the eye drops, she was told the resident could have them because he was independent. The Infection Preventionist acknowledged the resident had an order for eye drops and believed he obtained them from the VA, and stated he should not have the lubricant eye drops because they were a hazard for other people. The Administrator confirmed that typically a resident with medications at the bedside should be assessed for self-administration and stated the resident should not have eye drops in his room. The report notes that unsecured medications at the bedside had the potential to cause adverse reactions if accessed or ingested by other residents.
Failure to Assess and Authorize Self-Administration of Nebulizer Treatment
Penalty
Summary
The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to assess and authorize a resident for self-administration of a prescribed nebulized medication despite repeated observations of the resident using the nebulizer without staff present. The resident had a physician’s order for DuoNeb via nebulizer four times daily at scheduled times and had a BIMS score of 12/15, indicating mild cognitive impairment, with diagnoses including anxiety, depression, asthma, history of stroke, drug use, and metabolic encephalopathy. The MDS indicated the resident was dependent on staff for all ADLs except needing substantial/maximal assistance for eating, and the care plan documented impaired cognitive function and the need for cueing, orientation, supervision, and task segmentation. The care plan also included a problem area for infection risk with an intervention to administer treatments as ordered. Surveyors observed multiple instances where the nebulizer treatment was running without appropriate staff administration or supervision. On one occasion, the nebulizer machine was on with DuoNeb solution in the chamber and mist exiting the face mask, which was lying on the bed while the resident lay flat, with no staff present. On another observation, the resident was in bed holding the nebulizer mask about 20 inches from his mouth with the machine running, and later the mask was on the floor with the machine still on, again with no staff present. A further observation showed the resident in bed with the nebulizer mask on his face and no staff present. A nurse stated she had to go back to check on the resident because he had a history of taking the nebulizer mask off during treatment. Review of the clinical record showed no self-medication administration assessment, no care plan direction addressing self-administration of the DuoNeb nebulizer treatment, and no physician order authorizing self-administration, despite facility policy requiring an interdisciplinary assessment and documentation before allowing self-administration of medications.
Trusted data from CMS and state health departments
Every citation, penalty and Plan of Correction is sourced from public CMS records (latest release August 26, 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.