According to The New York Times, a new report reveals that over 90% of nursing homes in the nation employ at least one worker who has been convicted of a crime. In fact, the report stated 5% of all nursing home employees have at least one criminal conviction, some more.
Daniel R. Levinson, inspector general of the Dept. of Health and Human Services, issued the report. Levinson obtained the names of over 35,000 nursing home employees, at which point he checked with the FBI in order to determine how many of those 35,000 had criminal records.
Levinson stated, “Our analysis of F.B.I. criminal history records revealed that 92% of nursing facilities employed at least one individual with at least one criminal conviction.” Levinson also said that almost half of the nursing facilities have five or more individuals in their employ with at least one conviction. In one instance, a facility employed 164 workers; 34 of these workers had at least one conviction.
There are no federal laws or regulations that require nursing homes to check whether prospective employees have a federal or state criminal record. In the U.S., 10 states require that potential employees are checked for F.B.I. and state records; another 33 require only a check of state records. Other states currently have no explicit requirements in place.
Even with minimum requirements in place, many individuals who are convicted of a crime in one state have secured employment at nursing home facilities in another state. Additionally, some states leave the hiring decision up to the individual facilities, meaning that administrators of the nursing home facilities can use their own judgment in hiring individuals with a criminal record.
Sadly, nursing home and elderly care facilities today have a reputation for abuse and neglect, and these statistics only add to the problem. When nursing homes choose to hire individuals with criminal convictions, it frequently puts elderly residents at further risk for abuse, assault and theft.
Brown Chiari is a team of Lancaster NY nursing home neglect lawyers dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals in nursing homes. Contact us today for a free evaluation of your nursing home abuse or neglect case.
