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 about who else might be living there as well.
Nursing homes, assisted living services, and other long-term care facilities in Kentucky and Indiana are not 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 7 sex offenders are registered as residents in at least 6 long-term care facilities throughout the state.
That’s a very small percentage of total residents, but family members like Jill Westmoreland want to know.
Her mother, Kathryn Westmoreland, just turned 100-years-old on Feb. 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 shut down in October after the federal government cutoff Medicare/Medicaid to the nursing home after continued care failures.
However, after a quick search on the Kentucky Sex Offender Registry, we found that a man convicted for 1st degree rape and required to stay registered for life, lived at Regis Woods.
After shutting down, that man remained registered to Regis Woods’ address for more than two months. He was re-registered January 31 to Regency Center’s address, which is another Genesis operated nursing home.
Genesis spokesperson, Lori Mayer, issued a statement 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 full statement:
The State of Kentucky does not require nursing homes to check the State or National Sex Offender Registry for new admissions. Acceptance or denial of a patient is based on the Center’s 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 Offender Registry. Our affiliated Centers in Kentucky also protect the privacy of all patients and will not reveal sex offender status unless required by law or regulation.
Sex offenders at Kentucky long term care facilities
DISCLAIMER: After serving their sentence, offenders are required to report their address to the Kentucky Department of Corrections or the Division of Probation & Parole upon being assigned probation or moving in from another state. The information is collected 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. Below is a list of facilities with addresses that matched addresses reported by offenders as of February 2022. It is important to note the offenders' addresses can change. For the most up-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 across the river to another nursing home in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
She had to eventually leave Hillcrest Village because it could not accommodate her needs according to family.
However, there too was a registered sex offender, according to the Indiana Sex and Violent Offender Registry.
The home issued this statement:
In accordance with HIPPA regulations, we are unable to disclose information about our residents. Hillcrest Village’s priority is always the health and well-being of our residents and employees.
FOCUS also searched that registry and found vastly more sex offenders registered to Indiana long-term care facilities.
At least 87 sex offenders live in at least 35 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
At one facility in Bedford, Indiana, we found 11 sex offenders, plus one violent offender.
Meanwhile, we also discovered that the work addresses for at least three offenders are registered to three different facilities.
That is inconsistent with what The Indiana Health Care Association (IHCA) told FOCUS.
The IHCA says all employees at long-term care facilities have to go through background checks and cannot work there if crimes of abuse, including sexual abuse, 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 also have to comply with numerous federal and state laws and other regulations that prohibit the employment of any individual found guilty of abuse, including sexual abuse. Penalties for violating these laws are significant with many centers also choosing to implement more stringent hiring policies than what is mandated by law. The facilities carefully evaluate every admission, particularly those with a criminal background, as facilities have a legal obligation to protect the health and well-being of all residents that are part of their facility. It is important to note that the facilities are an integral part of the communities they serve, and as such, Hoosiers with a criminal background may also need long-term care services just 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 not 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's office in the corresponding county in Indiana. That information is uploaded to the registry online. The FOCUS team used the addresses of licensed long-term care 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 important to note the offenders' addresses can change. For the most up-to-date information, you should search the registry. We've included those links in this article.
“That’s my understanding that if you have a conviction for a violent crime or sex offense, that you’re prohibited from working in long-term care facilities,” Jasper said.
Jasper specializes in nursing home abuse at the Thomas Law Offices because before becoming an attorney, he was a certified nursing assistant in nursing homes.
“You have a right to know who you’re living with,” Jasper argued, adding that families should be told as well. “They have the right 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 small 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 firm, at one point, seven states require 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, North Dakota, Ohio, and Virginia.
To this date, Kentucky and Indiana do not require nursing homes and other long-term care facilities to disclose that a registered sex 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.
You can hear what they plan to change Tuesday at 6pm on WHAS11 News.
To see what offenders may be living in your area or in your loved ones' nursing home, you can search the Kentucky and Indiana registry. You can register your home, child's school or any other address in Indiana to get free email alerts if an offender moves to your area, just click 'register for email alerts'.
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