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Blog Monday, March 29 2021
 Healthcare workers from nurses to surgeons work with patients at their most vulnerable. For this reason, background checks are required in all 50 states.
Why is medical background screening so important? Medical professionals play a crucial role in patients’ physical and emotional well-being. As such, facilities need to do their due diligence in making sure candidates are responsible, qualified, and honest. A clean criminal record and a series of positive references are equally important.
Why Screen Texas Medical Workers? Most people would expect healthcare workers to be truthful—and the majority of them are. However, a 2014 CareerBuilder.com report revealed that 63% of healthcare industry resumes contain false information.
While at first glance it may seem easy to fudge a cover letter or resume, a thorough background screening protocol can easily pinpoint dishonesty. From criminal history to poor work performance, screening your staff will bring peace of mind and help organizations make sure their teams meet state and federal standards.
Of course, background screening requirements may vary depending on the needs and size of your organization, your location, and the position in question. An expert background check provider can help healthcare facilities navigate this process.
What Should a Healthcare Industry Background Check Include? Generally, a background check specific to the medical field will include the following:
National criminal records checks examine databases from across the country—pulling from millions of records in all 50 states, plus Washington D.C. and U.S. territories like Guam and Puerto Rico.
An essential component of a healthcare background check, this search will quickly identify those who have been convicted of a sex crime. For reference, there are more than 500,000 registered sex offenders living in the United States today.
These checks make sure applicants haven’t misrepresented who they are. By confirming where healthcare workers worked previously, verifying their identities, and confirming they have the proper degrees and licensure, you can make sure they’re well-equipped for the job.
Personal and professional reference checks help human resources staff get a sense of each candidate’s character and capabilities. In healthcare, where employees are working with vulnerable people, this is a crucial component of facilities’ background screening.
You’d be right to think that drug testing plays a key role in most industries’ pre-employment background screening. Healthcare is no exception.
The reasons for this are twofold. First, many healthcare workers have access to prescription drugs. Employers need to make sure that the people they hire aren’t at risk of abusing them. Second, substance abuse is prevalent among physicians and other skilled medical practitioners.
This may sound surprising, but the research is in to back it up. One study published in the Psychiatric Clinics of North America journal reported that up to 12% of physicians in the U.S. struggle with substance abuse issues.
What does this check entail? It’s simple. A federal exclusion search gives employers access to a list of healthcare workers—issued by the U.S. government—who are no longer permitted to receive federal funds.
This includes those who are working in healthcare with a criminal record, and who might therefore make it challenging for your facility to participate in federally-funded programs like Medicare.
Let Us Screen Your Medical Staff Are you ready to develop a custom screening program for your healthcare staff?
Redstar Backgrounds can help. Whether you are located in San Antonio, Dallas, Corpus Christi, or elsewhere in Texas, we will gladly develop the proper screening protocols for your medical team. Don’t hesitate to reach out for a free consultation today.
To learn more about the value of screening your medical staff, please contact Redstar Backgrounds. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more information. Thursday, March 18 2021
 Throughout Texas and nationwide, staffing agencies give companies the candidates they need to thrive. They help to fill short- and long-term positions, with the most sought-after firms going out of their way to supply the best employees around.
With that, we have to ask: Has your staffing company invested in a comprehensive drug screening program? This article will explore the benefits of using drug screening kits to test your staff, and increase performance, safety, and productivity as a result.
Benefits of Drug Screening for Texas Staffing Agencies The benefits of screening your team members are expansive. Testing staffing agency employees and applicants for drugs will help reduce the risk of making a hiring mistake, cultivate a safer work environment, and enhance your firm’s reputation.
It’s no secret that recruitment companies rely on their reputation to build their clientele. You wouldn’t want to violate anyone’s trust by recommending a candidate with a substance abuse problem. This is precisely where an agency-wide drug screening program may come in.
Additional benefits of staffing agency drug screening include:
So, to ensure a safe and productive workplace, why not develop a comprehensive drug screening program? The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence reports that 70% of the 14.8 million Americans who use illegal drugs are employed—but your agency doesn’t have to be the one to employ them.
What Do Drug Screening Kits Include? The needs of staffing agencies may vary. For this reason, most drug testing companies offer a range of screening kits that generally include:
Easy-to-manage and practical, with fast results, these tests are completed in five to 10 minutes with 99% accuracy. The employee simply inserts the test swab into their mouth before pushing it into the kit.
Simple to utilize, and just as quick and accurate as oral drug testing, the employee will privately urinate in a cup, seal the lid, and pass the kit back to the technician. Urine cup drug testing is a popular way to screen for marijuana.
Urine dip card drug tests are cost-efficient—not to mention a practical tool for pre-employment screening. This is a 12 CLIA Waived solution with 99% accuracy, with each strip that is attached to the urine dip card dedicated to a specific drug.
All three of the abovementioned solutions are perfectly viable, but dip card or panel drug tests are especially beneficial for staffing agencies. This is because they can screen for many harmful drugs simultaneously.
DrugScreenKits.com for San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Austin Staffing Agencies The verdict is in, and screening your staffing agency team members for drugs should be a priority rather than an afterthought. Statistics show that drug abuse costs employers a remarkable $81 billion per year, but again, this doesn’t have to be you.
So, set up your drug screening program today, with the goal of protecting your agency, clients, and staff. Most providers work with organizations across many industries, including:
It’s worth noting that a number of drug screening kit suppliers are also issuing COVID-19 tests at this time. To appeal to clients further—and reassure their employees—we recommend that staffing agencies invest in COVID-19 screening for their staff as well.
Is your staffing agency interested in working with Redstar Backgrounds and DrugScreenKits.com to develop a custom screening program? Please contact us for details, or to set up a free consultation. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more information. Thursday, March 11 2021
 Whether you run a ministry or are simply a part of a church community, chances are you recognize the importance of vetting your volunteers.
But what does your screening process look like? This article will outline the value of vetting your volunteers and staff.
Are You Properly Screening Your Church Volunteers? You may want to rely on your sense of goodwill when welcoming volunteers. This is an admirable place to start, but the truth is that it isn’t sufficient.
Why not? All faith-based organizations—many of which work with children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups—must take their screening process seriously. This means not only selecting your volunteers carefully, but implementing a strict protocol that includes routine background checks.
At minimum, you will want to include the following in your volunteer screening:
To go the extra mile in screening your church volunteers, you will also want to rely on reference checks and verification services. These will bring peace of mind, helping to make sure you only welcome honest, trustworthy people into your community. In this same vein, oversight and training are important too—but pre-screening prospective volunteers is especially critical.
4 Reasons for Churches to Complete Volunteer Background Checks Why develop a thorough background screening protocol? Here are five reasons to make background checks a key part of your church’s volunteer hiring process:
By being consistent about conducting background checks, you will deter predators or other people with negative intentions from getting involved at your church. A screening process is a simple barrier to entry that will keep criminal or otherwise exploitative people at bay.
Perhaps most importantly, screening your volunteers will help safeguard the communities you serve. For instance, if your volunteers drive church vehicles or manage church money, you can easily screen them to make sure they will act in everyone’s best interest.
While the safety of your community is most vital, you wouldn’t want to find your church at the center of a rumor or scandal. Yes, your church may be small—and you may think you already know everyone—but why not make sure there are no surprises?
Whether you are known for your mission work, your food drives, or your charitable outreach, screening your volunteers can help churches like yours take the work you do to the next level. By working with only the most driven volunteers, your ministry can truly go above and beyond.
For the above reasons, volunteer background checks are key. To ensure compliance, however, you might want to work with an expert background check provider—a company well-versed in compliance topics, with extensive experience serving churches throughout Texas.
Background Screening for Texas Ministries No matter your location, our expert team will help your ministry develop a custom protocol for screening potential volunteers. Whether you’re in San Antonio or Dallas, Houston or Austin or even Corpus Christi, we’re here to help your church create a fair and accurate process.
A friendly church volunteer program will make your community a safer, happier, and more welcoming place. With a thorough background check procedure, you will be well on your way to selecting only the best volunteers for every role—preventing harm and negligence throughout.
To learn more about the benefits of developing a comprehensive church screening program, please contact Redstar Backgrounds. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more information. |
