Sally Kestin, Peter Franceschina and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found that thousands of convicted criminals were working in Florida nursing homes, either through special exemptions or through failures of regulation and enforcement.
More than 3,500 people with criminal records — including rape, robbery and murder — have been allowed to work with the elderly, disabled and infirm through exemptions granted by the state the past two decades, a Sun-Sentinel investigation found. Hundreds more slipped through because employers failed to check their backgrounds or kept them on the job despite their criminal past.
The investigation finds that Florida has “patchwork of controls for checking caregivers” backgrounds, putting the state’s most vulnerable people at risk. The reporters pinpoint the systemic failures that allowed criminals to slip through the cracks and documented the damage a few of them had done once employed in nursing homes.
The project includes profiles of selected caregivers, surveillance video, and searchable databases.
Related
A new report from the Government Accountability Office report estimates that 580, or 4 percent, of America’s approximately 16,000 nursing homes are troubled enough to qualify for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services “Special Focus Facility” designation. Because of CMS’ limited resources, only 136 are.
AHCJ workshop
Over the next 20 years, the 65-plus population is projected to grow four to six times as fast as the population as a whole.
What’s ahead in research on chronic conditions, Alzheimer’s and genetics? What’s evolving in technology? What will be expected of caregivers? What kind of medical coverage will these seniors need? How do changing ethnic populations impact aging issues?
Learn about the hot-button issues in our aging society and what you need to be reporting on now.
