Elder Law

Nursing Home Employee Had Criminal History

By Levin & Perconti

A nurse who was convicted of child abuse and battery against her 17-year-old son and was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill patients at a nursing home was subsequently employed by a nursing home. The nursing home was never aware of these past convictions and allegations because they never fingerprinted the employee. If she had been fingerprinted she would have become part of the state?s database, and regulators could have learned within days of her arrest. This specific problem highlights the importance of checking criminal backgrounds on all employees. Although the woman had held a scalding iron against her 17-year-old son?s arm she marked that she had not been convicted of a crime on her application. In fact, the woman monitored the halls of the nursing home while she was on probation for the child abuse conviction. It was only after a complaint was filed against the woman for not dispensing medications to her patients at the nursing home did investigators learn of her criminal history. She was then fired for withholding medications from patients with serious conditions such as congestive heart failure, diabetes and emphysema. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).