Failure to Complete Required Background Checks Prior to Employment
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to follow its own abuse prevention policies regarding background checks for new employees. Specifically, for one of three sampled employee personnel files, a Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) was hired without the required Massachusetts Nurse Aide Registry (NAR) and Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checks being conducted prior to employment. The facility's policy mandates that such checks be completed to ensure that no individual with a history of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or related disciplinary actions is employed. Review of the CNA's personnel file confirmed that neither the NAR nor CORI checks were performed before or upon hire. Interviews with the Human Resource Director and the Director of Nurses revealed that there was no documentation to support that these checks had been completed for the CNA, and an audit of personnel records had not been conducted. The Human Resource Director was unable to provide information about the hiring process prior to her employment, and both she and the DON acknowledged that the required checks should have been completed.