Gov. Steve Beshear has ordered nursing homes and other health care providers to run national background checks on all new employees or risk losing their license to operate in the state.
Beshear signed the emergency regulation on Friday. It takes effect on Jan. 1 and will apply to about 1,300 providers, including nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, adult day health care programs and assisted living facilities.
Currently these providers are only required to do Kentucky-specific background checks, allowing them to hide crimes committed in other states. Since May 2014, Beshear says the state has received more than 2,400 complaints against long-term care providers. Of those, nearly 30 percent were about suspected abuse or exploitation.
Kentucky offers a background check program backed by federal grants.
