Always Check Before You Hire
There are many reasons why background checks for healthcare employees are necessary, unfortunately, there are examples of what happens when an organization or company does not comply and perform background checks.
Why We Screen
In Andover Kansas, a wrongful death suit has been filed against the Mapleton Assisted Living and Retirement Facilities. Over the course of five months a 68-year-old resident of the assisted living facility suffering from dementia had been abused by a nursing assistant.
The lawsuit alleges that if the company had conducted timely and thorough background checks, this abuse, and then the patient’s death, could have been avoided. According to lawsuit filed, the complaint alleges that the assisted living facility had not yet checked the background of the abuser for his first six months of employment, and had they, he would have not been hired.
According to the suit, the background check, “would have turned up severe-enough issues likely to disqualify him from working around vulnerable patients. Those include a 2005 rape allegation that was reported to police but never prosecuted; a sexual battery conviction that resulted from a 2006 report where the victim said —– tried to buy her silence with pills; a 2008 decision by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts to restrict —–‘s solo contact with female patients following sexual misconduct allegations; and an 18-month federal prison sentence handed down in 2011 after he pleaded guilty in a food stamp fraud case.”
Amy Renee Leiker – The Wichita Eagle
The Consequences Are Real
The consequences of not completing mandatory checks for HHS workers are dyer. It should be stated that these consequences are not simply monetary, in this unfortunate example, it may have cost a family one of their loved ones. The family is suing for $1.5 Million, $750,000 of that is punitive damages, but there will no doubt be an investigation by the state attorney general’s office, which could result in more fines and penalties, if not a closure of the facility.
Don’t Go in Blind
At Employment Screening Services, we understand the importance of a background check. There are unfortunately stories in the news every week that show the awful consequences of blind trust in hiring practices, from theft, to fraud, and abuse. We are here to protect you, your employees, your clients, and your business from hiring the wrong candidates. It is the information we provide that will help your business run with a clear conscience and the confidence of knowing and trusting who is working by your side.
We Can Help
If your company hires anyone in the health and human services, OIG exclusion checks must be run every month to be compliant with the office of the attorney general of your state. There is a lot to know and keep up with when running or managing a business or company, let ESS WNY help make hiring simpler. All businesses deserve the safety and security of knowing who they hire, we can do just that. If you have any questions, give us a call today, or leave your information here and we will contact you.
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