The states have long been concerned with caregiver qualifications for nursing home employees. The elderly, whose health is failing, are at high risk for abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and assault by staff and even other nursing home residents. Accordingly, each state has enacted screening procedure to conduct thorough background checks on staff, and in many cases residents, prior to granting them access to the facilities. Yet, as USA Today reports, this high degree of caution has failed to translate to office workers in nursing homes. Unfortunately, the lack of proper screening procedures, has resulted in thousands, if not millions of dollars, in fraud. Read the full story here.

This timely reminder of the vulnerability of elderly is just another reason that CLBB’s work on understanding decision-making by the elderly is essential. If you are interested in learning more, please attend our symposium on 12/12/13 on Capacity, Finances, and the Elderly: Brain Science Meets the Law.

Source: USA Today, December 1, 2013.