You Asked...
Do nursing homes and residential care facilities need to search the nurse aide registry for individuals hired into non-nursing assistant positions?
We Answered…
Yes, in accordance with the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3701-17-07(K) and 3701-16-06(L), nursing homes and residential care facilities are required to search the nurse aide registry for any employee who applies for a position that involves the provision of direct care to an older adult. No nursing home or residential care facility shall employ a person who is the subject of a finding of abuse or neglect of a resident or misappropriation of the property of a resident on the nurse aide registry, established pursuant to section 3721.32 of the Revised Code.
Additionally, in the State Operations Manual Appendix PP for nursing homes, the requirements of participation 483.12(a)(ii) also states that a nursing home must not employ an individual that has had a finding entered into the State nurse aide registry concerning abuse, neglect, exploitation, mistreatment of residents or misappropriation of their property. CMS notes that:
For the purposes of this guidance, “staff” includes employees, the medical director, consultants, contractors, volunteers. Staff would also include caregivers who provide care and services to residents on behalf of the facility, students in the facility’s nurse aide training program, and students from affiliated academic institutions, including therapy, social, and activity programs.
CMS provides further rationale by stating:
Facilities must be thorough in their investigations of the histories of prospective staff. In addition to inquiry of the State nurse aide registry or licensing authorities, the facility should check information from previous and/or current employers and make reasonable efforts to uncover information about any past criminal prosecutions. It has been reported that former nurse aides with a finding of abuse, neglect, misappropriation of resident property, exploitation, or mistreatment may seek employment in other departments of a facility, such as maintenance or laundry services/department, or at another nursing home in a non-nursing capacity.
Additional guidance can be found in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3701-17-07 for nursing homes and 3701-16-06 for residential care facilities and within the State Operations Manual Appendix PP for nursing homes.