It’s scary that you should have to check the backgrounds of people who care for the elderly, but that’s part of what will be legally required when the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act becomes law. Note that I said, “when” and not “if.”
The bill, authored by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, and Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM), is picking up supporters of all kinds according to Senior Journal. Powerful Senators like Carl Levin (D-MI) and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have signed on as co-sponsors.
The bill has also picked up support from influential organizations. The American Health Care Association (AHCA), an affiliation of state health organizations representing more than ten thousand non-profit and for-profit assisted living, nursing facility, developmentally-disabled, and sub-acute care providers, has endorsed it.
Even though I’m sure the bill will pass, no one can predict exactly what form it will take. We can be pretty sure of a couple of things, though.
We can be sure that the bill will require all facilities that care for the elderly to do what many such facilities already do. Elder-care facilities will have to run pre-employment background checks on anyone who applies for a job.
We can be sure that the bill will address issues that are similar to the ones we’ve seen with background checks for gun owners. Forty-one states now require these background checks, but the databases that support them are inconsistent and not coordinated. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which supports the bill, puts it this way:
A system of national criminal background checks is especially critical, given the mobility of today’s workers, the turnover in the long-term care workforce, and the fact that it is not unusual for individuals to work in multiple states.
For more information on the bill and its progress, you can visit the site of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging.
I totally support and appreciate what this bill will do. As a finder of homes for the elderly and retired population this bill is definitely a must
and long overdue.
Bobbie T.
Senior Housing Expert
http://www.ElderhomeFinders.com
I am happy to see this bill. I have a question–does this apply to the Developmentally Delayed
population that lives in Group Homes or apartments. These people require various levels of care by CareTakers. They are just as vulnerable to being molested or abused as the elderly. We need to protect this population as well.
When I was a nurses aide for only a period of 3 years (1970’s to 80’s) I witnessed patients being hit by other aides and also met a nurse who collected ‘unadministered’ drugs in a restaurant sized mayonnaise jar – to take home. She later had a party at which I found the jar sitting in her kitchen.
My lesson? Workers in the health care field are just as probable of committing crimes against people as in other fields. Because they are around drugs all the time, they should be subject to drug testing as well as background check.
Please, let’s pass this bill now.