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Tip of the Week: The importance of criminal background checks

Contemporary Long-Term Care Weekly, November 15, 2007

As high staff turnover rates and financial hardship continue to be the reality for nursing homes, you may wonder how your facility can afford to conduct criminal background checks. It's important to look at that this expenditure as not just an operating expense but an investment, says Julian Rich, president and CEO of Penacook Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Haverhill, MA.

Background checks may eliminate troublesome hires, which can help insulate the facility from lawsuits and a variety of employment-related expenses. According to Rich, they can also help in reducing the costs of hiring new staff by:

- lowering turnover rates
- reducing the need for agency personnel
- improving productivity by reducing training costs
- reducing administrative expenses and time necessary for disciplinary action
- improving morale (e.g., too many new staff members can add a burden to existing staff)

The typical facility needs to budget several thousand dollars annually to conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees, says Rich. Additionally, determine an estimate as to the actual cost of hiring a new employee for your facility. The cost may include recruitment, candidate selection, orientation, lower productivity levels as the new employee progresses through the on-the-job learning curve, in-service education, and other related expenditures.

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