CRIMINAL CHECKS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS PLANNED

Ohio offi­cials plan to bol­ster crim­i­nal back­ground checks for those home health-care work­ers who pro­vide direct care to the dis­abled and elderly.

The state has received a $2.1 mil­lion fed­eral grant to pro­vide increased reviews for more than 100,000 work­ers who serve patients in Med­ic­aid– and Medicare-funded set­tings.

Ohio also will pro­vide $700,000 in state funds to improve back­ground checks.

The money will help the state to extend the use of the attor­ney general’s fin­ger­print data­base to direct-care providers.

Cur­rently, work­ers receive a back­ground check prior to being hired by their employ­ers. As of Jan­u­ary, the state insti­tuted rules requir­ing post-hiring checks at least every five years.