Thousands Of Texas Nurses Have Criminal Record

DALLAS (AP) – More than one out of twenty nurses licensed in Texas have a criminal record, an investigation by Dallas television station WFAA found.

The station conducted background checks by comparing the names and dates of birth on each Texas nursing license with the Texas Department of Public Safety criminal database. Their analysis uncovered thousands of nurses with arrest records, some for offenses that included murder, kidnapping and arson.

The Texas Board of Nursing told the station it wanted to run background checks of all nurses in 2005, but state lawmakers found the $5 million it would cost too expensive.

The agency finally received money for the background checks last year, when the state had a surplus, said State Rep. Fred Brown.

Board officials say that while they got authorization to conduct thousands of outstanding background checks, they didn’t receive enough extra staff to process and investigate nurses.

Currently, new applicants and transfers from other states get checked immediately.

But checking the records of the 283,000 already licensed nurses will take time. The agency is reviewing only a fraction of the nurses renewing licenses every month. Officials hope to complete comprehensive national background checks by 2012, said Tony Diggs, the nursing board’s enforcement director.

Depending on the charge against them, nurses can be sanctioned, have their license suspended or revoked by the board.

Some of the largest hospitals say they don’t hire anyone with a criminal record that would be job-related. But several hospitals say each nurse’s background is considered on a case-by-case basis, the station reported.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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