New facility no med cart allowed

[Mqnurse13]

I just started working at a new facility just opened, skilled long term,they are not allowing us to push the med cart or a cart period and we have filled individual boxes locked in rooms with prescribed medications. However there is not enough floor stock Of colace and vitamins for each box so we have them in labeled baggies in the boxes that we made. We can't exactly carry the bottles room to room either. Does anyone know the proper way to dispense these without a med cart? We also do not have a computer to carry around only printed med list, our computer dies if you unplug it. Is it ok to initial next to medication on paper? I would ask someone but they don't answer me I don't think anyone knows. The owner just wants the halls clear of anything including med carts. He doesn't even want dispensers so we have no Purell dispensers and have told him it's state law to put them in! Really just concerned for my license and med administration. Thanks for input. I'm carrying my own Purell and soap cause we don't have any soap dispensers either. We just opened a week ago and we have patients (10) they are promising to fix these after we complained.

[GrandmaSqueak]

I feel your pain. I once worked 2 weeks at a brand new facility. It was beautiful, but the call bells for the hall I worked rang at the front nurses' station. There was no nurses' station on my hallway. I did my charting in the room at the end of the hall which was supposed to be a resident room. It had a desk and a phone. I made my concerns known and was told it was in the plan to fix that.

When payday arrived, I didn't get paid. I asked about it and they said they had no record of my shifts. I had signed in every night at the front nurses' station and was able to verify my hours with the DON. The HR person was very rude. They told me I could get my check on Tuesday. I told them I'd be back on Tuesday to pick up my check, but I would no longer work there due to safety concerns and being treated poorly.

Yes, I quit without notice. Life goes on....

[Mqnurse13]

No there was a Rn supervisor there and Lpn

[Lapishsunsmile]

If you didn't physically have another nurse accept responsibility and keys then they can file you for abandonment.

[Mqnurse13]

I did hand my keys to my LPN and nurse manager I already know about abandonment I would never do that. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was because I care about my patients. I'm feeling badly for them right now and wish things were different so I could go back. I just found out today the LPn quit today too. I'm going to call my director today and try talking to her, but I know she has been trying her hardest to fix this stuff but the builders/ owners are ignoring her. It's Just upsetting that when everything came crumbling down she was no where to be found and neither was her assistant. I'm so concerned for my patients I'm considering going back because they have no staff now.

[amoLucia]

Words of advice - they existed BEFORE you got there, and they'll exist AFTER you're gone.

That's what the 'corporate folk' get paid the BIG BUCKS for. They'll cover their butts.

Call the State with your info if you want to make an impact.

[sideshowstarlet, BSN, RN]

Don't go back! You had good reasons to quit, and those reasons have not been fixed. In fact, we have reason to believe things have gotten worse, with more staff quitting. You can always see your old residents as a visitor, and check in on them like that.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

You really need to listen to your instinct to leave and not even begin to consider going back. I can't imagine passing meds off of a handwritten list. Even if you get to a computer of official paper MAR to sign them off later i doubt if that procedure is legal. At the least you are absolutely right about it being a med error just waiting to happen.

[TriciaJ, RN]

No med carts? Are they just trying to save nickels and dimes on med carts? Supposed to look like a person's home? There's a very good reason these people aren't in their homes. That's because their homes can't accommodate their current needs.

This is corporate penny-pinching with BS spin put on it. Don't go back.

[txbornnurse]

How you are supposed to handle giving meds if the resident is not in their room? And I echo a previous poster about where oh where is your state licensing/regulatory agency to do that initial survey?

You know what is not home-like? Residents getting incorrect meds and infections from lack of proper sanitary supplies.

[Purple_Clover]

This place has red flags all over it. I'd be looking for a new job. No sanitizer or soap? Meds in baggies and boxes? Infection control and safety risks.

THIS!