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Kentucky Nursing Home News: Many Homes Employ Convicted Criminals

March 25, 2011 - In a troubling report about the state of nursing home care in the United States, the New York Times reports that more than 90% of nursing home facilities in the U.S.-including those in Kentucky-employ at least one person convicted of a crime. In some cases, more than one person at the facility may be hired who has had a criminal conviction. 

This report comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, who obtained the names of 35,000 nursing home employees and worked with records from the Federal Bureau of Investigations to arrive at those figures.

The findings were that 92% of nursing home facilities employed at least one person who had a criminal background. Almost half of the nursing home facilities included in the study employed 5 or more people with a criminal record. In one facility, out of the 164 employees, there were 34 who had at least one criminal conviction.

There are no federal laws or regulations that require nursing home facilities to check potential employee's background for criminal records. There are 10 states that require a check of state records and an FBI check, 33 that require state record checks only, and the rest have no specific requirements.

While most crimes were related to burglary or crimes against property, there were also drug-related offenses and assaults included in those numbers. 

These findings have some experts asking for better nursing home regulation in order to protect vulnerable nursing home residents from situations where they are at a greater risk for experiencing nursing home abuse.

If your loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse in Kentucky, a Louisville nursing home abuse attorney can help lead an investigation into the hiring practices and operational methods of the nursing home involved.

Contacting a Louisville Nursing Home Abuse Attorney

A Louisville nursing home abuse attorney at Gray and White Law can help you handle every aspect of your Kentucky medical malpractice claim. If you've been injured in Kentucky, contact us today for a free evaluation of your case - 1-800-634-8767 or 502-210- 8942.4

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