New York nursing homes must screen workers
July 6 , 2005
A new state Department of Health regulation requires nursing facilities and health care agencies in New York to run pre-employment criminal background checks on non-licensed personnel who work directly with patients.
New York joins a handful of other states that require the nursing home facility checks as state standards, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and Florida. The new rule requires people who have been convicted of the most serious felonies to be barred from ever getting a job in the health care industry, with people with a lesser felon barred for 10 years after conviction.
Not only do advocates for the elderly and disabled support the New York measure, but also care providers and families. The decision to place a loved one in the care of a facility can be difficult to begin with, and when families are considering a home knowing the state will not allow a convicted felon to be in charge of the care administered can greatly alleviate any additional stressors.
Patients in nursing home facilities and other health agencies are especially vulnerable to abuse and mistreatment. Eliminating workers with criminal tendencies has the ability to reduce the risk that improper care will occur. Some groups would like the background checks to go even further. Pending legislation could eliminate some of the loopholes, and so far, the bill has passed the state Senate on June 23 and the Assembly on June 24. If signed by the governor, employers could have less time to wait for results and may be able to have access to a greater amount of background information.
Some New York homes didn't wait for the legislation to mandate background checks, which went into effect April 1, and for years local homes have run its own checks. Although the background checks will help eliminate some seemingly obvious bad employee fits by barring convicted sex abusers, drug traffickers and grand larceny offenders from finding employment in nursing homes or home health agencies, the checks should just be a start to enacting measures ensuring patient safety and security, according to some advocates.
Anyone who has committed assault, besides sex offenses, robbery and endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, is also banned from employment for 10 years from nursing homes under the New York law. The state regulation covers non-licensed employees, including nurse's aides, home health aides and personal care aides. Licensed workers like nurses and doctors must have background scrutiny through the agency that issued their licenses.
The Department of health hopes the new regulations provide families with some more peace of mind that their loved ones are getting some of the best health care protection in the nation. Nursing home patient advocates believe that the background checks are a good step in promoting better care for the state's elders and assisted living patients, but that until there is adequate staffing in homes the care the residents deserve and need will still be at a shortage. There are 700,000 elderly dependent on New York nursing homes or home health aides.
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