John Falcetano (john.falcetano@brooksrehab.org) is Director Corporate Compliance at Brooks Health System in Jacksonville, FL.

A critical element of any effective compliance program is monitoring. As a service to our members, each month this column focuses on potential monitors for specific business lines.

It is often said that employees are the eyes and ears of the compliance program. Compliance professionals rely on staff to report potential compliance issues for investigation. One important part of a compliance program is creating an environment where employees feel safe when reporting potential issues and do not fear retaliation. Preventing and, when necessary, identifying retaliation when it occurs are important components of any compliance program.