Due to increasing changes in the healthcare environment, many healthcare accrediting and regulatory bodies require healthcare employees, students, and volunteers to have completed national background checks prior to working with patients.
As of July 2006, Columbia Basin College began requiring national background checks for all Health Sciences Division students prior to entering the clinical area. The background check is requested and paid by the student through a third party company, Castle Branch. CBC's Health Sciences Center will be provided with the results of this background check.
Please see below for additional details on the specific items included in this background search. In order to comply with the requirements of clinical facilities, students may need to provide access to their background check to clinical facilities upon request. Clinical facilities reserve the right to accept or decline clinical students. Acceptance to each clinical facility is required before a student may enter the clinical facility for any clinical participation related to Columbia Basin College. In addition to the criminal background check conducted by Columbia Basin College through CastleBranch, each clinical facility reserves the right to conduct its own criminal background check prior to allowing the student to enter for clinical participation.
The background check will include a review of several items, including:
- Washington Statewide Criminal Search (Washington Access to Criminal History) including unlimited search of all counties of residence within the past seven years using applicants current, maiden, and alias names
- Nationwide Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Scan using current, maiden, and alias names
- Nationwide Record Indicator with Sex Offender Index using current, maiden, and alias names
- Social Security alert
- Residency history using current, maiden, and alias names
Upon completion of the background check, students will be provided a code that may be used with the last four digits of the student's Social Security number to access the completed criminal background report. Upon the request of the clinical facilities, students may be required to provide the clinical facility access to their completed criminal background report before participation in any clinical activities. Only students approved by the clinical facility are allowed to participate in clinical activities.
Students can also give other schools or employers access to their national background check report by providing their report password and last four digits of the student's Social Security number.
Please note, students need to pay for their background check by debit or credit card.
Here is the link to CastleBranch.com