Bill Would Create a Nationwide Background Check System

Proposed Bill Would Expand Background Checks of Nursing Home Staff

WASHINGTON, DC — July 27, 2007 — The Senate Committee on Aging recently held a session to evaluate the proposed Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007 (S. 1577). This bill would create and fund a nationwide system of background checks to prevent those with serious criminal records or histories of abusing patients from being hired to work directly with nursing home residents.

The bill is modeled on a $16.4 million pilot program that will end in September. Under the program, seven states were selected to improve their background checks of nursing home workers by linking their state registries with a federal criminal background check. The project resulted in identifying 5,000 nursing home staff applicants with a criminal history of elder and nursing home abuse.

Although many states perform criminal background checks, nursing home applicants may move from state to state and evade the system. Also, background reviews vary in type and degree from state to state. Supporters of S. 1577 say that a better, uniform system is needed, including giving states access to FBI fingerprint information. They point to a 2006 study by the Department of Health and Human Services that found a link between criminal history and future incidences of abuse. The study also concluded that criminal background checks were a valuable tool for employers during the hiring process.

In 2004, state Adult Protective Services agencies received over 500,000 reports of elder abuse. More than 15,000 nursing home complaints involved abuse, including nearly 4,000 complaints of physical abuse, over 800 complaints of sexual abuse, and nearly 1,000 complaints of financial exploitation, according to the explanatory section of S. 1577.

S. 1577 was introduced by Sen. Herb Kohl (D–WI) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R–NM), and has 10 cosponsors. The text of the bill may be found on the Library of Congress (Thomas) web site. The Senate Committee on Aging has issued a press release about the S. 1577 hearing.

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At Brayton Purcell, we are concerned with the level of care in nursing homes. We can help you with problems such as nursing home violations, nursing home abuse and inadequate pain management issues. If you have questions about a nursing home and your legal rights, or the rights of an elderly loved one, please feel free to contact us for more information.

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A pilot project of background checks in seven states identified 5,000 nursing home staff applicants with a criminal history of elder or nursing home abuse.

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