By Pittsburgh Senior Advisor Care Team · October 8, 2026
In 437 recent DHS inspection reports for 157 Pittsburgh-area homes, medication administration (55 Pa. Code 2600.187) was cited 116 times, more than any other section, followed by food storage, resident assessments, staff training and fire drills. 172 of the reports had no violations at all.
What did we read?
For each of the 157 larger Pittsburgh-area personal care homes and assisted living residences we profile (homes with 40 or more beds, every assisted living residence and every home with a dementia unit), we read the two or three most recent Licensing Inspection Summaries posted by DHS, 437 reports in all, and counted the numbered violations and the 55 Pa. Code sections cited.
DHS data was retrieved October 28, 2026. The counts below are citations, not homes: a single report can cite the same section more than once.
Which sections were cited most?
Medication handling dominates. Section 2600.187, medication administration, was cited more than any other, mostly for not following the prescriber's orders, missing dates or times of administration, and incomplete medication records.
| 55 Pa. Code section | Citations | Most common labels in the reports |
|---|---|---|
| 2600.187 | 116 | Follow Prescriber's Orders (46); Date/Time of Medication Admin. (33); Medication Record (31) |
| 2600.103 | 83 | Storing Food (26); Refrigerator/Freezer Temps (26); Storing Food Off Floor (9) |
| 2600.225 | 69 | Additional Assessment (38); Assessment 15 Days (31) |
| 2600.65 | 65 | Annual Training Content (18); Training Topics (13); Training Record (10) |
| 2600.132 | 63 | Evacuation (13); Fire Drill Records (10); Fire Drills Days/Times (9) |
| 2600.183 | 60 | Meds and Syringes Locked (28); Prescription Current (18); Storing Medications (11) |
| 2600.42 | 47 | Abuse (23); Treatment of Residents (12); Privacy (8) |
| 2600.141 | 46 | Annual Medical Evaluation (19); 1-10 Medical Evaluation Information (12); Medical Evaluation (8) |
| 2600.227 | 46 | Support Plan Medical/Dental (18); Support Plan Signatures (9); Support Plan Refuse Sign (7) |
| 2600.85 | 43 | Sanitary Conditions (26); Trash Receptacles (8); Trash Outside Home (7) |
Why are medication rules cited so often?
Personal care homes and assisted living residences rely on unlicensed staff to give medications after they complete the state's Medication Administration Training Program; neither a personal care home nor most of an ALR's staff are nurses. Every dose is recorded by hand or on an electronic record, so inspectors can check timing and documentation against the physician's orders line by line.
Storage rules (2600.183, 2600.185) and labeling (2600.184) add more citations: medications and syringes not locked, storage procedures not followed, a resident's medication not labeled. Many of these are fixable the same day, but repeated findings point to a training or supervision gap.
What else showed up often?
Food storage and refrigerator temperatures (2600.103), resident assessments due within 15 days or after a change in condition (2600.225), annual staff training content and records (2600.65), and fire drills and evacuation (2600.132) round out the top of the list.
Abuse and treatment of residents (2600.42) appeared 47 times. That section covers a range of findings, from privacy to abuse, so it is always worth reading the narrative in the report itself.
How many reports were clean?
172 of the 437 reports, about 39%, recorded zero numbered violations. In each home's most recent report, the median was 1 violation and the highest was 16.
That spread is why we show violation counts on each facility page rather than any summary score. Pennsylvania publishes no rating for personal care homes, and we do not make one up.
Do assisted living residences show the same pattern?
Assisted living residences are cited under Chapter 2800 rather than Chapter 2600, and the region has only a few of them, so their citations make up a small share of the reports we read. Where they appear, the subjects are similar: medications, assessments and support plans, and building safety.
Because ALRs must have a licensed nurse in the building or on call, ask an ALR how that nurse oversees medication administration by aides.
How can a home keep medication citations down?
Homes with consistently clean reports tend to describe the same habits: a pharmacy that packages medications by dose and time, an electronic medication record that flags missed doses, a supervisor who audits records every shift, and a short list of trained staff allowed to give medications. None of this is required in that exact form, but all of it addresses what inspectors cite most.
Asking a home to walk you through its medication process, start to finish, is one of the most revealing questions on a tour.
How should families use this?
Use the list as a set of questions. Ask any home how medications are administered on the evening and night shifts, who audits the medication records and how often, when residents were last reassessed, and how often fire drills run. Then compare the answers against the home's own reports.
A home that has been cited for the same medication section in consecutive reports should be able to explain exactly what it changed.
A citation count: what it tells you and what it does not
| Tells you | Does not tell you | |
|---|---|---|
| High count in one report | inspectors found several problems that day | whether they were fixed |
| Same section in repeated reports | a pattern worth asking about | the severity without the narrative |
| Zero violations | a clean visit | staffing on other days |
| Section number | which rule was cited | how residents were affected |
Frequently asked questions
What is 55 Pa. Code 2600.187?
It is the personal care home regulation on medication administration, covering following the prescriber's orders, recording the date and time each medication is given, and keeping a complete medication record.
Are these figures for every home in the region?
No. They cover the 157 larger homes we profile, using their most recent reports. Smaller homes' reports are on the DHS directory.
Does a citation mean a resident was harmed?
Not necessarily. Many citations are documentation or storage findings. The narrative in each report explains what inspectors saw.
Where can I read a specific home's reports?
On the DHS Human Services Provider Directory, or through the PDF links on our facility pages.
