Can A Registered Sex Offender Live In A Nursing Home

Our FOCUS team has found many elderly residents are living among registered sex offenders. If they don't do their homework, they likely wouldn't know information technology.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When families are looking for just the right place for their loved ones to live with 24/7 care, they often don't think nigh who else might be living at that place besides.

Nursing homes, assisted living services, and other long-term intendance facilities in Kentucky and Indiana are non required to disclose to incoming or current residents and their families the backgrounds of other residents who are likely sharing common areas with them.

That includes registered sex offenders.

FOCUS found that in Kentucky, at least seven sex offenders are registered as residents in at least 6 long-term care facilities throughout the land.

That's a very small percentage of full residents, simply family unit members like Jill Westmoreland want to know.

Her mother, Kathryn Westmoreland, just turned 100-years-old on February. 10.

"If someone is a sex offender, then that should be something that is disclosed," Jill Westmoreland said.

Kathryn used to live at Regis Woods, owned by Genesis HealthCare, until it was forced to close downwards in October later on the federal authorities cutoff Medicare/Medicaid to the nursing home after continued care failures.

Even so, after a quick search on the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry, nosotros found that a man convicted for 1st degree rape and required to stay registered for life, lived at Regis Wood.

Afterward shutting down, that man remained registered to Regis Woods' address for more than two months. He was re-registered Jan 31 to Regency Center'south address, which is some other Genesis operated nursing dwelling.

Genesis spokesperson, Lori Mayer, issued a argument saying that its nursing homes don't have to do its own homework on possible admittance of a sex offender because the Commonwealth of Kentucky does not require it.

This is the total statement:

The State of Kentucky does not require nursing homes to check the State or National Sexual activity Offender Registry for new admissions. Acceptance or denial of a patient is based on the Middle'south ability to provide appropriate care to meet the potential patient's needs. Centers are prohibited from denying admission to a potential patient who would otherwise be appropriate for admission solely because he/she is listed on a State or National Sex activity Offender Registry. Our affiliated Centers in Kentucky as well protect the privacy of all patients and will non reveal sex offender status unless required by constabulary or regulation.

Sexual activity offenders at Kentucky long term intendance facilities
DISCLAIMER: Subsequently serving their sentence, offenders are required to study their address to the Kentucky Section of Corrections or the Sectionalization of Probation & Parole upon being assigned probation or moving in from another state. The information is nerveless and forwarded to the Kentucky State Police for inclusion in the database and placement on the website. The FOCUS team used the addresses of licensed long-term care facilities to search the registry. Beneath is a list of facilities with addresses that matched addresses reported by offenders equally of February 2022. It is important to note the offenders' addresses can change. For the most upward-to-date information, you should search the registry. We've included those links in this article.

In the case of Kathryn Westmoreland, she was temporarily moved beyond the river to another nursing home in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

She had to eventually get out Hillcrest Village because it could non accommodate her needs co-ordinate to family.

Nevertheless, there too was a registered sex activity offender, according to the Indiana Sexual activity and Violent Offender Registry.

The abode issued this statement:

In accordance with HIPPA regulations, we are unable to disclose data well-nigh our residents.  Hillcrest Village'due south priority is e'er the wellness and well-being of our residents and employees.

FOCUS also searched that registry and found vastly more sex offenders registered to Indiana long-term intendance facilities.

At least 87 sex offenders live in at to the lowest degree 35 nursing homes and other long-term intendance facilities.

At ane facility in Bedford, Indiana, we found 11 sex offenders, plus one violent offender.

Meanwhile, we as well discovered that the work addresses for at least three offenders are registered to three dissimilar facilities.

That is inconsistent with what The Indiana Health Care Clan (IHCA) told FOCUS.

The IHCA says all employees at long-term intendance facilities have to go through background checks and cannot work there if crimes of abuse, including sexual corruption, show up.

This statement is attributed to IHCA President Zach Cattell:

Each employee hired by a long-term care facilities are required to have a criminal background check. They as well have to comply with numerous federal and land laws and other regulations that prohibit the employment of whatsoever individual establish guilty of abuse, including sexual corruption. Penalties for violating these laws are pregnant with many centers also choosing to implement more than stringent hiring policies than what is mandated by constabulary.  The facilities carefully evaluate every admission, particularly those with a criminal background, equally facilities have a legal obligation to protect the health and well-being of all residents that are office of their facility. It is important to note that the facilities are an integral office of the communities they serve, and equally such, Hoosiers with a criminal background may also need long-term care services merely like any other citizen.

"That shocks me," Attorney Brian Jasper said upon hearing that a few sex offenders had registered work addresses matching long-term care facilities in Indiana.

Jasper does non practice law in Indiana, but he says the standard for employment at the homes is universal.

Sex and violent offenders with addresses matching Indiana care long term care facilities

DISCLAIMER: After serving their sentence, offenders are required to report their, home, work, temporary and secondary addresses to the Sheriff'due south role in the corresponding county in Indiana. That information is uploaded to the registry online. The FOCUS team used the addresses of licensed long-term intendance facilities to search the registry. Below is a list of facilities with addresses that matched addresses reported by offenders as of February 2022. It is of import to note the offenders' addresses can change. For the virtually up-to-date information, you lot should search the registry. We've included those links in this commodity.

"That'due south my understanding that if yous have a conviction for a violent criminal offence or sex offense, that y'all're prohibited from working in long-term care facilities," Jasper said.

Jasper specializes in nursing home corruption at the Thomas Police Offices because before becoming an attorney, he was a certified nursing banana in nursing homes.

"Y'all accept a right to know who you're living with," Jasper argued, adding that families should be told too.  "They have the correct to know who's there, who they're mingling with their loved ones."

Without knowing, Jasper says, "Not only are the residents vulnerable, there are pocket-size children that come to visit and there are teenagers and young people that visit there too."

According to a study by the Goldberg Segalla law business firm, at one indicate, seven states crave that both the facility and residents must be notified about another resident who is a registered sex offender.

Those states were Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, N Dakota, Ohio, and Virginia.

To this date, Kentucky and Indiana do not require nursing homes and other long-term intendance facilities to disclose that a registered sexual practice offender lives there.

However, since our report, Kentucky Senator David Yates, D-Louisville, and State Senator Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, are considering draft legislation on full disclosure.

Yous can hear what they plan to alter Tuesday at 6pm on WHAS11 News. To see what offenders may be living in your area or in your loved ones' nursing home, you tin search the Kentucky  and Indiana  registry. You tin can register your habitation, child's school or any other address in Indiana to get free electronic mail alerts if an offender moves to your area, just click 'register for email alerts'.

► Contact reporter John Charlton at jcharlton@whas11.com . Follow him on Twitter (@JCharltonNews)  and Facebook .

► Make it easy to keep upwardly-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple  or Android  users.

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Source: https://www.whas11.com/article/news/investigations/focus/sex-offenders-long-term-care-facilities-kentucky-indiana-investigation-focus/417-98e083b0-fdb7-4608-ba8b-4a583290c2d7

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