River Brook Healthcare: Medication Disposal Failures - GA
Inspectors observed the box on September 27, 2025, at 9:05 a.m. It was filled to the top with medication packs and vials. Nobody had written what was in it. Nobody had counted what was in it.
Registered Nurse AA told inspectors she empties the box monthly by transferring medications into smaller boxes, which she then hands to the Director of Nursing. She does not label the smaller boxes. She does not log what goes into them.
The Director of Nursing said the pharmacist comes in monthly, scans the medications, and generates a return slip, but does not take the drugs with her that day. A separate pickup, she said, happens within one to two weeks, sometimes sooner. Until the pharmacist's monthly visit, there is no accounting for what is in the box. "The facility does not log discharged or expired medications anywhere," the DON told inspectors. "It sits in the box in the medication room until the pharmacist comes in monthly."
Licensed Practical Nurse BB described the same routine. When a medication expires or gets discontinued, she pulls it from the cart and drops it in the box. No log. No label. She said she does not know when the DON scans the medications.
The facility's own pharmacy policy, revised July 2024, required that medications waiting for destruction be sealed in a labeled box, secured in a locked cabinet or room, and either rendered unusable or held for licensed waste disposal pickup. The box inspectors found met none of those requirements.
The DON confirmed the medications in the box were not narcotics, but no one at the facility could say with certainty what was in it, how much, or how long any of it had been there.
Full Inspection Report
The details above represent a summary of key findings. View the complete inspection report for River Brook Healthcare Center from 2025-09-28 including all violations, facility responses, and corrective action plans.
Download the official CMS inspection PDF from Medicare.gov
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.
Editorial process: Inspection findings are extracted from CMS source documents and synthesized using AI, reviewed for factual accuracy against the original report by our editorial team.
Professional review: All content reviewed by Christopher F. Nesbitt, Sr., NH EMT & BU-trained Paralegal.
Last verified: September 23, 2026 · Our methodology
RIVER BROOK HEALTHCARE CENTER in HOMERVILLE, GA was cited for violations during a health inspection on September 28, 2025.
Inspectors observed the box on September 27, 2025, at 9:05 a.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.