A recent report filed by CBS indicates a disturbing trend in the healthcare industry. According to a government report from the Department of Health and Human Services, 92% of representative pool of 260 nursing homes across the country had at least one employee with a criminal record on staff in 2009. With the job seeker pool as large as it is and the sensitive nature of the nursing home industry, it seems surprising that nursing homes would continue to hire people with criminal records. It stands to reason that many of these hires were not screened by a
pre-employment screening agency. Indeed, they were found out in the government report through the use of a few simple background checks that any pre-employment screening would have utilized.
Additionally, over half of the nursing homes had five or more employees with criminal records currently on staff. The majority of these convictions were for property crimes such as theft, burglary and shoplifting, while several were found to be convicted sex offenders. Both represent liabilities for businesses for a variety of reasons. Hiring someone convicted of theft is a liability in that convicted thieves are more apt to steal business supplies from the workplace or residents of the home’s personal belongings. We shouldn't have to elaborate the dangers of allowing sex offenders to operate in a place where patients are often at their most vulnerable. Lawsuits, disruptions, not to mention the moral implications of such a choice should be obvious.
Most states require nursing homes to conduct basic criminal database checks on new hires in order to be in compliance with regulations, but only seven states require the more extensive FBI background check that checks for convictions in multiple states.
This report, filed by CBS, shocked a lot of viewers and readers. People seeking to put loved ones or themselves in a nursing home will soon be asking the question, "Does your facility do
fingerprint background screening on new hires?" If you can answer yes, you're much more likely to get their business.
Furthermore, government officials, shocked by this news, reiterated the necessity of conducting extensive background checks on all new hires in the healthcare industry. Background checks should not be limited to accessing the FBI databases for criminal records, but should include conversations with past employers, education record checks and identity verifications. The average do-it-yourself approach of most nursing homes may not be able to successfully navigate the patchwork nature of many states' criminal databases. For this reason, government officials recommend that health care facilities such as nursing homes and hospitals use professional pre-employment screening agencies to conduct background checks on new hires.
