The World Health Organization released data in 2018 that revealed one in six people age 60 years and older experienced some form of abuse in nursing homes and long-term care (LTC) facilities. Flaws in traditional screening assessments could be to blame, which are limited to the minimum background check requirements set by the state. In most cases, home health agencies are only required to conduct a criminal background check, without further investigation into things like sex offender registries, civil lawsuits, substance abuse history or previous employment terminations. It is important for data to be collected from additional sources, such as that driven by artificial intelligence. In addition, employers should be willing to dig deeper into their own risk management practices and draw from publicly available sources, such as the employer’s own website and employer review sites.
