Crenshaw Nursing Home: Medication Fridge Too Warm - CA
The thermometer on the unit read 48 degrees Fahrenheit at 12:20 p.m. on March 19. Inside were insulin vials, insulin pens, and multidose vials of tuberculin, the substance injected under the skin to test for tuberculosis infection. The facility's own written policy, dated April 2008, required that refrigerated medications be kept between 36 and 46 degrees. The refrigerator was not within that range.
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See the Derila PillowTwo minutes after the inspector noted the temperature, a Licensed Vocational Nurse identified in the report as LVN 1 confirmed what the thermometer showed. The nurse knew the policy. The temperature should be between 36 and 46 degrees, the nurse said. The nurse acknowledged the refrigerator was at 48. When asked about the risk, the nurse said medications stored out of range could expire.
That answer understated the concern. Insulin stored above the recommended temperature range can lose potency before its labeled expiration date, meaning a resident receiving a standard dose may not actually be receiving a fully effective one. Blood sugar that should come down may not. For diabetic residents whose insulin is dosed carefully against their condition, a degraded vial is not a theoretical problem. The tuberculin vials present a separate issue: a test performed with compromised material can return an inaccurate result, potentially missing an active tuberculosis infection in a congregate care setting.
The inspection report does not say when the refrigerator first exceeded 46 degrees. It does not say whether any resident's medication had already been drawn from one of the affected vials before the inspector arrived. It does not say whether staff had logged the temperature that morning, or the day before, or the week before. The policy called for a thermometer inside the unit specifically to allow monitoring. The thermometer was there. The temperature was 48 degrees.
Crenshaw Nursing Home sits at 1900 S. Longwood Ave. in Los Angeles. The inspection was conducted March 19 through March 21, 2025, and the deficiency was cited at a level of minimal harm or potential for actual harm, affecting some residents. That classification sits near the lower end of the federal severity scale, but it does not mean the medications in that refrigerator were confirmed to be unaffected.
The facility's policy on medication storage had been in place since 2008. Seventeen years is a long time for a written standard to exist. Whether staff had been checking the refrigerator temperature regularly, and whether those checks had been documented and reviewed, the inspection report does not say. What it says is that when an inspector looked at the thermometer on a Tuesday afternoon, the number was wrong.
The nurse who confirmed the temperature did not dispute it. There was no suggestion in the report that the reading was a malfunction or an anomaly being actively addressed. It was 48 degrees. The nurse said it should be between 36 and 46. That was the extent of the explanation on record.
Residents at Crenshaw who depend on insulin to manage their diabetes, and residents who may have received tuberculin skin tests in the period before the inspection, are the people most directly connected to what that thermometer showed. The report does not name them. It does not describe their conditions or say whether any of them were told that the medications meant for them had been sitting in a refrigerator running above the safe storage range.
The facility was given the opportunity to submit a plan of correction. What happens to the residents whose medications were in that refrigerator is not part of the public record.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for Crenshaw Nursing Home from 2025-03-21 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Additional Resources
Data source: This article is based on inspection data downloaded directly from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) via Medicare.gov. CMS releases inspection reports in bulk; we publish the findings as documented by state surveyors in the official Form CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies.
Plan of correction: The CMS report we receive does not include the facility's plan of correction. Facilities submit plans of correction separately to state survey agencies and those responses may not be reflected in CMS data at the time of publication. The absence of a plan of correction in our data does not mean one was not filed. Readers who want information about corrective steps taken are encouraged to contact the facility directly or their state survey agency.
Corrections may have occurred: Inspection reports reflect conditions observed on the date of the survey. Facilities may have implemented corrections, staffing changes, additional training, or other remediation since the report was issued. We report what CMS provides and encourage readers to seek current information from the facility.
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Last verified: November 14, 2026 · Our methodology
CRENSHAW NURSING HOME in LOS ANGELES, CA was cited for violations during a health inspection on March 21, 2025.
The thermometer on the unit read 48 degrees Fahrenheit at 12:20 p.m.
Health inspections identify deficiencies that facilities must correct. Violations range from minor documentation issues to serious safety concerns. Review the full report below for specific details and facility response.