HHS-OIG: Delayed Background Checks at Gallup Indian Medical Center Put Children at Risk
An audit of the Gallup Indian Medical Center has revealed that the failure to conduct timely and complete background checks on staff members put Indian children at risk of harm and abuse.
The Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Act (ICPFVPA) requires federal background checks to be conducted on individuals in contact with Indian children, and for staff members to be supervised pending the completion of background checks. The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) conducted an audit of the Gallup, New Mexico, Indian Health Service (HIS)-operated health facility to assess compliance with the background check requirements after prior work by HHS-OIG identified noncompliance in that area.
Gallup Indian Medical Center is one of four hospitals operated by the IHS through its Navajo Area Office. It has the largest staff and one of the largest workloads of the four hospitals, with 250,000 outpatient encounters and 5,800 admissions a year. HHS-OIG reviewed background investigation documentation for staff members in contact with Indian children and the documentation of provisional staff supervision at the hospital for calendar year 2022. HHS-OIG selected a sample of 50 staff members for review, which included 42 federal employees, 4 contractors, and 4 volunteers.
The audit revealed the hospitals did not always comply with federal background check requirements and did not always document the supervision of staff pending the outcome of background checks. The hospital could not demonstrate compliance for 45 of the 50 staff members, indicating a failure to initiate or timely initiate and adjudicate background check investigations. For 44 of the 50 staff members, the hospital could not provide documentation that it supervised those staff members pending the outcome of the investigations.
HHS OIG Exclusions List
What You Need To Know
Get The 6 Essentials Checklist For Compliance Officers
A link to your download will be sent to your email address
Your Privacy Respected
HIPAA Journal Privacy Policy
HHS-OIG said the hospital failed to monitor compliance with the background check requirements for permanent staff or did not perform timely background checks for temporary staff. While there were procedures for documenting compliance with the supervision requirements for provisional staff, the documentation only stated before-the-fact assertions that supervision would take place, not that it actually occurred.
When questioned about the deficiencies, officials at the Navajo Area Office said they could not explain the cause of the failures as they were not employed at the hospital at the time the deficiencies occurred. HHS-OIG said the lack of monitoring of compliance with federal background checks and supervision requirements placed Indian children at an increased risk of harm and abuse
HHS-OIG made 5 recommendations to IHS: to ensure that background investigations and adjudication take place for all staff members who HHS-OIG determined had not had a satisfactory background check, to monitor investigations to ensure that all elements are completed within the required timeframes, to update its operating procedures to ensure compliance with the requirements for completing background investigations for temporary staff, to ensure that all staff members in contact with Indian children who have a pending background check are supervised, and to follow through on its plans for an agency-wide process to facilitate compliance with the sight and supervision requirements for staff with pending background investigations, including documentation that supervision actually occurs.
HIS concurred with 4 recommendations and partially concurred with one. HIS said it was not possible to meet the federal background check requirements for temporary staff appointed for 120 days or less due to the time constraints to complete a full background investigation.
