Jeannine LeCompte, Publishing and Research Coordinator
A Louisiana woman posed as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) at a Louisiana nursing home. She had originally been hired as a social worker, but she used the identity of an LPN with the same name to convince the facility that she was licensed as a nurse. She worked over 1,000 hours while pretending to be an LPN and fraudulently treated over 100 patients until her fraud was discovered and she was arrested.
A woman in Texas served as a dialysis center’s facility administrator. The position required the credentials of a registered nurse, but the woman had only one year of college, so she lied about her credentials and alleged college nursing degrees. A license number she listed on her application turned out to be for a medical equipment tag. A patient reported her after the imposter nurse violated a doctor’s orders for analysis, which caused the patient to have a medical emergency at the site. Her fraud was discovered during the ensuing investigation.
A Tennessee woman with no nursing degree, nursing license, or any nursing experience provided fraudulent information on job applications and used the registered nurse license numbers of others to gain employment. She posed as a registered nurse and was hired by at least eight healthcare providers over a six-year period. At least one patient required readmittance and a three-day hospital stay due to the imposter nurse’s care.
In addition to certification checks, federal and some state laws require healthcare providers to perform in-depth background screening which can prevent the hiring of individuals who have been found guilty of certain specified offenses. These offenses are generally related to the charges of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents by a court of law; or any potential employee who has a finding entered into the state nurse aid registry concerning abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of a resident or misappropriation of a resident’s property.
Background checks should be performed for all employees to the fullest extent required and/or permitted by applicable state and federal law, and the applicable records should be retained in the employee’s file. The facility should be thorough in its investigations of potential employees and obtain at least two professional references from past employers.
As part of employee screening, the facility should:
- Check with all applicable state licensing and certification authorities to ensure that, prior to start of employment, potential employees hold the requisite license and/or certification status to perform their job functions and that such license/certification is current and valid.
- Require that all potential employees certify as part of the employment application process that they have not been excluded from participation in any state or federal healthcare program, including Medicare and Medicaid.
- Require that all potential employees, who have received a conditional offer of employment, certify as to whether they have been convicted, or otherwise found guilty, of an offense under local, state, or federal law that would preclude them from employment in a nursing facility.
- Not employ any potential employee found guilty of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents by a court of law; or any potential employee who has had a finding entered into the state nurse aid registry concerning abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of a resident or misappropriation of a resident’s property.
Facilities must also pre-screen prospective consultants, contractors, temporary agency staff, volunteers, caregivers, students in its nurse aide training program, and students from affiliated academic institutions, including therapy, social, and activity programs. The facility should require these individuals to be subject to the same scrutiny prior to placement in the facility, whether screened by the facility itself, a third-party agency, or academic institution. Documentation should be maintained which shows that the screening has occurred.
If and when questions arise as to suitability and eligibility for employment, the situation should be discussed with the Corporate Compliance/Regulatory Attorney overseeing the facility’s Corporate Compliance Program.
