California state officials looking to hire 20,000 workers to help individuals enroll in the state health insurance exchange are considering whether these new employees – known as “assisters” – should undergo background checks and fingerprinting, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times available at http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/15/business/la-fi-insure-criminal-checks-20130315. (more…)

A new national study from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine has found that many agencies that place caregivers in the homes of vulnerable elderly people do not perform national criminal background checks or drug testing and do not require any experience or provide any real training or supervision, according to a news article available on the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine website at http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/news/2012/07/dangerous_caregivers.html. (more…)

To promote a “culture of safety” in health care facilities and help protect health care workers from incidents of workplace violence in the state of Pennsylvania, the ‘Health Care Facilities Workplace Violence Prevention Act’ (House Bill 1992) was recently introduced in the Pennsylvania House, according to a report from HealthCanal.com. HB 1992 – a joint effort by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and State Representative Nicholas Micozzie (R-163) – requires Pennsylvania hospitals and other health care facilities to take steps to protect health care workers from suffering from workplace violence that include security risks assessments, finding ways to create a safer workplace, and helping workplace violence victims report incidents. (more…)

A recent investigation by WKYC-TV NBC Channel 3 News in Cleveland, Ohio found that consumers should closely check the backgrounds of home health caregivers before allowing them into their homes after reporting stories of theft by in home caregivers, including one case where $25,000 in cash was stolen from a home safe. Overall, the state of Ohio has received 470 complaints against home health agencies and their home health caregiver employees since the beginning of 2010. (more…)

To assist household employers in their search for qualified caregivers, Employment Screening Resources (ESR), a nationwide background check company accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), has launched a new website – ESR Screened Caregiver (http://www.screenedcaregiver.com/) – where household employers may screen caregivers to ensure the safety of families and loved ones and caregivers may self-certify with background screening to show their abilities and qualifications. Attorney Les Rosen, ESR Founder and CEO, made the announcement. (more…)