Pre-employment screenings: building in theft deterrents.

Employees are the greatest asset in any long-term care organization. Administrators have a duty and a responsibility for insuring that they continue to have a sound security plan which includes hiring competent, honest, and caring workers. Establishing low employment standards could readily materialize into operating a low quality of care program. We have advocated five main management tools for pre-employment screening. Some long-term care facilities need to relook at their pre-employment hiring policies and procedures. No one type of method is foolproof, but long-term care administrators must acknowledge that employee theft can be reduced if high risk applicants are identified and screened out.