Failure to Complete Required Employee Screening for Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation
Penalty
Summary
Facility staff failed to implement their policy regarding the screening of new hires for abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Specifically, for 13 out of 25 new hires, required background checks, reference checks, and license verifications were either not completed or not documented. The policy in place required that all potential employees, including contracted and temporary staff, be screened for a history of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or misappropriation of resident property, and that documentation of these screenings be maintained. However, upon review, the facility was unable to provide evidence that these screenings had been conducted for the identified new hires, including licensed nurses, certified nursing assistants, housekeepers, dietary aides, and therapy staff. During the survey, the team requested and reviewed the facility's Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation policy, which outlined the required screening procedures. The surveyors found that for several new hires, there were missing background checks, reference checks, and license verifications. The facility was only able to provide some of the missing documentation after the survey began, and for the majority of the identified staff, no further information was provided prior to the exit conference. No information about residents or their conditions was included in the report.