After a ProPublica report spotlighted a lack of oversight for nurses in New York, state legislators are racing to solve the issue.
Measures that were passed unanimously through committee earlier this month would allow the state’s Education Department to suspend licenses more quickly and order more reporting of criminal convictions or misconduct, according to a second ProPublica article. However, the legislative session ended Thursday, without the measures passing through both needed legislative bodies.
ProPublica’s previous investigation found that nurses applying for applications to the Education Department’s Office of Professions do not need to undergo background checks or fingerprinting, allowing applicants with criminal records to apply unencumbered. The office is also reluctant to begin criminal proceedings, ProPublica’s investigation had found, and it can take years for patients to who have been neglected, sexually assaulted or even called to see any action.
Opponents of New York’s proposed solution to this problem say it may compel professionals to disclose pending charges. Edie Brous, a lawyer who often represents nurses in misconduct hearings, told ProPublica it would be unfair to do so. “It is becoming more and more accusatory and difficult to practice in this state,” she said.
The New York bill at present does not require license applicants to submit to a background check, according to ProPublica, but legislators are working to add such language into the document. New York is one of only 13 states that does not require a background check to license nurses. A background check requirement was in original drafts of the bill, according to the publication, but was removed after non-medical professionals protested.
- read the ProPublica article