The memory care unit where my mother lives isn't allowing the Amazon Echo Show. My mother doesn't pick up the phone anymore. In short, she can't remember anything and sometimes how things work, like a telephone, but she is very sociable and sometimes lonely. The Amazon echo show has a feature that allows me to drop in on her and just show up on her dresser! She really took to it right away and liked it a lot, but the facility said it was against their rules and took it out of the room. I said I would sign a waiver, but it's not looking good so far. I would never put anyone in a facility that does not allow this type of device to communicate with a relative.
I'd be impressed if the facility had yet got round to devising a formal policy on these devices. But you're still entitled to ask them to give their reasons for depriving your mother of a means of communication that you have approved.
You could end up being an interesting test case - I will watch this space! Good luck with it, and a big shout-out to your mother for being such a clever techie lady :)
That said, it is my connection, and does not belong to the "home". It's a private room and I agree to not hold them liable for anything related to it.
Personally, I think that they should be held to the same standard that many businesses are held to, and that is that we are all being recorded, police being a good example.
I'm sure that the idea of piping natural gas into homes, wiring homes with outlets of 110V with 20A of current were thought to be crazy. Sure, there are problems, but in general we all appreciate the lights, heat and cooking capabilities that this type of power gives us all and is considered a standard in the developed world. Few advancements come without any cost.
I like your suggestion and I think I will pull out the original agreement and see exactly what it says! The longer this "blackout" goes on, the stronger that I feel about it.
These are built in to TVs now, so eventually they will have to face this situation and I think they will have to allow it or risk losing customers.
I don't see theft or breakage as being an issue. I'm certainly not concerned about either in this close-in situation on a memory unit and the unit itself is very robust.
I didn't see the rules, but I don't doubt that they exist. The reason that they gave was that it might be a HIPAA violation. I assured them that I would sign a statement approving this, since I have legal authority over my mother.
I have not actually heard a decision yet, but I'm guessing this type of situation is going to get a lot bigger and that it won't go away. Personally, I have no use for devices like this except in this situation. I liken it to police wearing body cameras. I can imagine that if I were a cop, I would not want to wear them, but I understand why they are becoming ubiquitous. Cameras are literally everywhere now, especially if you consider smart phone proliferation.
I wonder if telephones were considered as a type of privacy invasion when they started to become popular. I bet there were a lot of people who probably said no-way initially...
The standard should be that they want you to watch what's going on so that you can see what excellent care they give!
There's another issue beyond surveillance and it is invasion of privacy. "Just showing" up could result in some compromising situations for your mother, such as if she's getting dressed, or in a state of undress. While she's your mother, it still might make her feel uncomfortable.
And I imagine the staff wouldn't appreciate the intrusion either.
SouthHaven, have you read the Admission Agreement? I'm guessing the issue of surveillance or some form of it is included in the restrictions.
If there is such a provision, and you signed the Agreement, the facility could easily argue that you "knew or should have known" (standard legal language) that these types of devices are prohibited.
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