A0055: Medication storage

AHCA cited A0055 194 times at 175 of Florida’s 1,171 small ALFs between July 2023 and July 2026. That ties it with A0030 as the eighth most cited tag.

What a surveyor looks at

59A-36.008(6), F.A.C.

A0055 is where medication lives. The rule, 59A-36.008(6), wants it locked up at all times and kept dry, away from heat and cold. Each resident’s medication is kept apart, fridge medication is secured inside the fridge, and somebody on staff has the key on hand. A surveyor checks by opening the cabinet.

Disposal runs on its own clock. Medication left behind after a resident goes isn’t abandoned until 15 days after you give notice, and then you have 30 days to get rid of it.

The paper this tag asks for

There are 3 documents under this tag. You need one of them in every case, and the other 2 only when something is true of your home or a resident. Having every one of them is not the same as passing a survey, because a surveyor also reads what’s in them and watches your home run.

Documents every small Florida ALF needs under A0055, the rule that asks for each, and how often each renews.
Every home	Renews
Medication practices policy59A-36.015(1)(r)	No date in the rule

Documents a small Florida ALF needs under A0055 only when a condition is true.
Only when it applies	Renews
Central storage list59A-36.008(6)(b)2.A resident asked the home to store their medication centrally. Only that trigger creates the list; the other five reasons for central storage in the rule do not.	When it changes
Medication disposal record59A-36.008(6)(f)Medication belonging to the resident expired, or was left behind after the resident's stay ended, and was disposed of.	No date in the rule

The rule’s own words

Medication practices policy, 59A-36.015(1)(r), F.A.C.: (r) The facility’s medication practices;
Central storage list, 59A-36.008(6)(b)2., F.A.C.: The resident requests central storage. The facility must maintain a list of all medications being stored pursuant to such a request;
Medication disposal record, 59A-36.008(6)(f), F.A.C.: Medications that have been abandoned or have expired must be disposed of within 30 days of being determined abandoned or expired and the disposal must be documented in the resident’s record.

What Alfie does here

Two papers come out of this rule, and Alfie holds both: the list of medication a resident asked you to store for them, and the record of each disposal.

The cabinet itself is most of the tag, and no document shows a cabinet is locked.

If you’ve just been cited for A0055, the plan of correction is yours to write, and Alfie won’t write it for you. Where Alfie helps is the next survey, so the same paper isn’t missing again.

How Alfie works$149 a month for the whole home. Setup done for you.

The other nine

All 25 tags, and how we counted them, are on the citations page. Every document in one list, sorted by file, is on the documents page.