As our population ages, our older and frailer population increases too. What's a family to do to ensure their family members are cared for in a compassionate and caring manner?
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What happens when your parents get older and can no longer care for themselves? What happens if a catastrophic event occurs? They fall, break a hip and can't go back to their previous living arrangement? Yikes! What do you do?
Okay, so you have decided or already have a family member living at a nursing home. You've looked at several nursing homes and chosen one and have moved in. How do you make sure that they are safe even when you can't be there?
Families are resorting to the use of webcams to watch when they can't be present. Here's a story from Minnesota about one women's fight to ensure that she KNEW what was going on with her Mom. When her Mother developed a blister that no one knew about and when she saw a puddle of urine below her Mom's wheelchair, the daughter took action and installed a webcam in her room. "To her surprise, staff at the nursing home objected — even covering the camera with a towel on some occasions or unplugging it. Eventually the family filed a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Health, and even though the home said it tried to resolve the dispute, the agency last week issued a far-reaching ruling in favor of the family.
The maltreatment finding is significant because it is considered the first of its kind to affirm, in clear language, the right of a Minnesota senior home resident to use a camera in a private room without fear of harassment."
Other families in Minnesota report they have faced intimidation and objections from nursing home staff when webcams are installed. "State law is murky on the matter, even as hidden camera footage has become increasingly useful for law enforcement officers and regulators investigating allegations of criminal abuse." In one instance the resident was asked each time a staff member came into the room to turn off the webcam. However, the resident made it clear that it made her feel safe and she declined to deactivate it. They would then state to her that they would have to move her to a different room. State investigators found that after the webcam was installed, staff entered her room less often and engages in less conversation when compared to before the camera was installed.
So, is this a violation of staff rights? Apparently not as the state sided with the family. What if this is a semi-private room and a roommate is accidentally filmed? What rights do they have?
Why do families feel the need to install webcams? Would more staffing and more open and honest communication resolve issues before this became necessary?
According to the National Center on Elder Abuse; "As of 2017, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington have laws that permit the installation of cameras in residents’ rooms, if the resident and roommate have consented. Each state law addresses issues including consent, and who can provide it; notice requirements, including who must be notified of the camera in use and placement of notices; assumption of costs associated with the cameras; penalties for obstruction or tampering with the cameras; and access to the recordings. While not having a law in place, Maryland has issued guidelines for the use of cameras in nursing home residents’ rooms; and New Jersey’s Office of Attorney General will loan camera equipment to families who want to monitor their loved one’s care."
Do you have experience with webcams in healthcare settings? As staff? As a concerned family member?
