According to website: https://www.elderlawanswers.com/can-you-put-a-surveillance-camera-in-a-nursing-home-room-16956
Can You Put a Surveillance Camera in a Nursing Home Room? December 19th, 2018
Technological advances have made it easier to stay connected with loved ones all the time. This has included the ability to install cameras in a loved one's nursing home room. These so-called "granny cams" have legal and privacy implications.
The benefit of putting a surveillance camera in a nursing home is the ability to monitor your family member's care. Families that suspect abuse or neglect can keep on eye caregivers. Being able to observe care from afar can give family members peace of mind that their loved one is being well taken care of. It can also serve as evidence if abuse is found. Even if there is no abuse, cameras can be helpful to observe if caregivers are using improper techniques that may injure a resident.
On the other hand, cameras raise privacy concerns for both residents (including roommates) and caregivers. Residents may not want to be monitored while they are in a vulnerable state, such as changing or bathing. If the recording device picks up audio, then even the resident's conversations may no longer be private.
All this aside, do nursing homes have to permit families to install cameras? This varies depending on the facility. Some nursing homes may have language in their admission contracts banning cameras or imposing specific requirements for their use. However, concerns over elder abuse have led some states to pass laws allowing cameras in nursing homes. At least six states -- Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington -- have passed laws permitting families to install a camera in a nursing home if the resident and the resident's roommate have agreed. Utah permits cameras in assisted living facilities. New Jersey does not have a law specifically permitting cameras, but it has a program that loans surveillance cameras to families who suspect abuse. In other states, the law surrounding camera use is more vague.
If you are considering installing a camera in a loved one's nursing home room, you should contact your attorney to discuss the legal and practical implications.
For a fact sheet about nursing home surveillance from The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care.
And keep in mind the Consumer Voice’s advice that cameras are “no substitute for personal involvement and monitoring.” https://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/issues/cv-ncea-surveillance-factsheet-web.pdf
You need to get legal advice as to whether it is legal or not for you to put a camera in your father's room at the long term care facility.
If you suspect abuse, contact the State Department of Health and Human Services Licensure Division for Long Term Care/Nursing Homes and also contact the Long Term Care Ombudsman for your state.
I was going to put one in my mother’s ALF apartment ( dr suggested it might her cut down some of her delusional statements) but it’s against their policy. Make sure you check
But I would notify the facility. Is it one person?
I would do what you need to do. If he's being abused you need to catch it so they can be held accountable. There are so many ways to hide a camera, picture frame, stuffed animal. Illegal? I don't know. Consequences from the facility if they find out, maybe. Your dads safety biggest concern, absolutely!
Is someone there every day. What kind of abuse are you seeing? The first thing I would do is take him to his PCP and have him examined head to toe. Has he lost alot of weight. Moms AL checked residents weight all the time. If they lost more than five pounds they started them on Boost or something like it.
Taking him to PCP? What's that going to do? Many hospitals will back the facility over the patient, esp if the NH/ALdoctor works at the same hosipital as a PCP. They'll blame him and not them
Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. What we are experiencing is that the facility is saying my dad is aggressive and has assaulted staff. We heard NOTHING about this. Until last night when they called my sister Judy who is poa and said it was a courtesy call to let us know they were sending him to the hospital for a psych eval. Judy stopped them! They said it was a fourth incident in two weeks. They had the police there! But we have not been advised of any of this. Judy got the administrator on the phone and it turns out that there is no one staff who can say what exactly has been happening. But they all say that someone else notified us, though the administrator could find no record of such in my dad's chart.
When we moved my dad in, we instructed facility that he sleeps long during the day and that they should allow him. They should try to get him up of course but not to insist if he refuses. Just leave him a meal tray. What we have heard from another resident's husband is that they have been insisting that he get up to go to meals and he told them to get out. I know if they try to manhandle him he will push back.
I visit 2-3 times a week during the evening and have observed staff ignoring patients. There are two patients who constantly holler, loudly, yet they are kept in the public living room with the other patients. This yelling really affects my dad and agitates him. He had also begun having pooping episodes that are quite messy. This seems to aggravate the staff. At least three times I've been there and cleaned him up. Once I actually got in the shower with him and cleaned him head to toe while an aide stood around not knowing what to do next. How could this be?
All in all, we (my 7 siblings and I) feel this is a staff issue, lack of training combined with lack of oversight and supervision. They are pretty much sitting at a table on the side of the community living room and not doing much.
And yes, tomorrow I'm contacting Ombudsman. I've already talked to two other facilities. I work in the hospice industry so I am immersed in elderly care and dementia patients.
1. If you want to put in a camera check the laws in the state. Most will allow cameras but focused only on the resident, not a room mate and not in the bathroom. And audio may not be permitted at all unless you have permission, and that would be from anyone that might be recorded. 2. If your discussion withe the Ombudsman is not successful I would begin to look for another facility. 3. Even if the discussion with the ombudsman is successful you might want to look for another facility, you never know how staff may react. (OK I might be a little paranoid on this)
It's entirely possible that the staff is at the very least neglecting your dad--and this can amount to abuse just as physical assault would be. I don't care what the facility (or eve the law) says, I'd get a nanny cam in there. If it shows neglect or abuse or violation of your instructions, let the home sue you after you've sued them! This place is probably short-staffed (they ALL are) with underpaid aides. You and your siblings are doing the very best thing, you are visiting often and monitoring and advocating for your father.
I did. Made sure it was focused mainly on our mother and not the roommate. (Just in case I did get caught) I purchased a clock/temperature/camera. $350. camouflaged it. Of course, I had to retrieve it because it had to be downloaded onto a puter. we didn’t see anything the short period I used it because we lived out of town. Difficult to do this type in a regular basis. The others are pricey. beat to find out though.. somehow.
No idea about camera or not, but about abuse and aggressiveness in AL/NH situations ...
We had a patient once, with mid-stage Alzheimers', who had spent 40 years working the midnight shift. Family told us he continued to sleep days, get up about 10 pm and putter around the house until going to bed at some random time between 8 am and noon, even through 15 years of retirement when he might have made a change.
Night shift aides didn't know how to cope -- it meant they weren't just babysitting the mostly-sleeping folks, but needed to be watchful and maybe keeping company all night. Didn't help much that we were routinely shorter-staffed overnight because it generally took about half the number of staff to cover nights than to do dayshift with all its bathing and cooking and socializing.
But after awhile, and some retraining of folks who wanted to insist he 'stay up' so he could get 'back' to what they thought of as a regular schedule ... eventually he was okay. Eventually aides learned to deal successfully with his eating schedule and so on.
But he was pretty aggressive during the period when people would wake him up 20 minutes after he'd gone to sleep, or try to prevent him going to bed, or try to put him back to bed when he'd just got up for the night.
Another way that patients get labeled 'aggressive' is when a staff member tells them to do something, and they don't do it fast enough, so the staff member takes their arm to guide or coach or hurry them 'just a little.' Quite often folks with arthritis don't like to be touched or grabbed (I mean, it hurts them, so they like it even less than most people) and will yank their arm away ... which causes bruising to elderly paper thin skin.
Then staff get labeled 'abusive' and they retaliate by labeling the resident 'aggressive.' Gets to be a vicious cycle.
Also there are situations in the NH that tend to create this kind of interaction. Nobody wants to be told they have to take their shower 'now', but one person delaying will throw off the whole day for staff. Bathrooms are necessarily shiny, highly reflective, and often slick with water -- which makes falls more likely and more dangerous. Bright reflective rooms are hard for elders to see in, because our eyes accommodate much more slowly, so the first several steps in the facility bathroom the person can feel almost blind. Rushing them just leads to falls. Chief result is that many NH residents are afraid of bathrooms. Which of course leads to more incontinence. (sigh)
I wonder to what extent the contract your family signed with the facility and the rules of the facility would control whether you can place a Cam. Also, the law of the state you are in, may also impact your right to record others without their consent.
Generally, speaking it would be safer (legally) to assume that you CANNOT place secret cameras in a room without permission or consent of the facility. The health care facility is not your property. Depending on the sate, their can be very tough legal consequences including jail time.
If you suspect abuse your best option is to talk directly with management who can use their authority to put hidden cameras in common areas or in your family members room to catch abuse happening.
Yes. Check the paperwork. When my mom was in rehab there was some info about cams that was kind of a loophole. It said you can use covert camera as long as staff don't know it's there. If they find it, they may ask you to remove it. I know you can't have it aimed in a way that picks up a roommate. - You gotta do what you gotta do since there is a great chance that someone working there is not treating the patients with respect or in a manner the patient deserves.
You can if it is your own home; however, a private facility not owned by you can bring legal action against you due to privacy and HIPPA law issues. I am no lawyer but I also imagine different States have different laws regarding this.
Your best means to keep your loved one safe is VISIT OFTEN and DAILY and do routine skin inspections.
In SNFs, family members are not allowed to be in shower or bedroom when getting washed, changed...they supposed to wait outside until Aides are finished. He should require 2 aides & under no circumstances should this happen again...speak to Social Worker.
I've had the same issue with CNA's yelling out "Patient Care" upon entering my Mom's room as if I'm in violation when they were changing her Diaper. I've had a hateful CNA violently pull the curtain in front of y face while standing out of the way observing them use the Hoya lift to put my Mom in bed. I just re-positioned myself so I could still see. (If there's nothing to hide what is the problem?) I'm her HPOA and DO have the right the be in the room, shower or wherever my Mom is in the facility even if it's privately owned. Each independently owned Nursing Home has its own rules, however, on allowing family members to be present during patient care. But if you are the HPOA you do have that right. Personally, I feel that if you are not in the way and want to be present or want to inspect your loved one during this time it should be fine. It takes a team effort to care for your loved one. Being an advocate is part of that team effort. Talk with the Nursing Mgr or the Administrator about this if you are not the HPOA and it is bothering you. Best wishes to you and your family.
Laws vary from state to state. Some states do allow camera's in residents room as long as certain guidelines are followed. Check to see what the law's are in your state.
Some courts will allow to be submitted, BUT that may not protect a person from their own criminal or civil liability , Legally they cannot if the state has law against video taping others without consent. They would need the consent of management.
Some of the staff in the nursing homes are there physically but just do the minimum to get the job done. Some are pressed for time, others simply hate their jobs and would rather goof off than work; I've seen both kinds where my mother is living.
We took an old unused cellphone and installed an ap called "Alfred". The ap uses the camera on the phone and it's free if you don't mind ads once in a while (or $10 if you want ad-free and the ability to zoom in). We could check in from our cellphone at any time and no one knew the phone was there (except Mom of course). Since it's a cell phone, it doesn't look like a nanny cam. You can also have multiple devices linked to the one ap. I think there's a way to record and take pictures but we never had to do that. Good luck, I'm sure this is very stressful for you.
Yes, you can place a nanny cam inside his room, consider sitting it up high to view exits and entrances. If he has a roommate, consider editing out his roommate if he is captured in the footage. If your dad is being abused then likely others are being abused. Amazon has lots of hidden nanny cams available. Hidden in picture frames, stuffed animals, clocks. find an all inclusive camera, if possible.
Please don't advise people to commit a criminal act. It will not help their love one if they go to jail -- which can be the penalty for video taping someone without permission. Many people are giving emotional responses - but those responses could end up sending someone to jail.
I doubt that a family member will be sent to jail over a camcorder, MsRandall. And if that camcorder records abuse or neglect, you can be sure there will be more pressure on the state to deal with this than with a HIPAA violation.
Legally I could not answer the question for you but I will say that I wish I had thought about it when my dad was in rehab.nursing home. everyday I was given some piss poor excuse why my dad was black and blue. why he got a cut on his arm. why he fell out of the bed. why he had to sleep on the floor for the night. why he had to go to the hospital during the night and I never got a call about it. and the stories went on and on. After the excuses that I was given from the staff, I decided to talk to his roommate. He told me terrible things they did to my dad late at night when I was not there. I confronted the staff and was told the room mate was mentally unstable and made up stories all the time. the last straw was when I got there one morning as I did every day for about a month and they were just taking dad down to therapy . I told them I would take him down and when the woman in therapy took him inside I waited outside for him to be done. a few minutes later the head therapist came out and said they couldn't work on my dad due to the marks on his neck. I looked down and my dad had hand marks completely around his neck as if some one tried to strangle him. no lie. he was real red, bruised up and yellowish completely around his neck. I went crazy. my dad was crying begging me to take him home. and that is just what I did. I packed his bag and called the medical van and out of there we went. I filled a complaint with the medical board the next day.. no one knows what goes on when family and friends are not there to defend the patient. think twice before you put them in a place without some type of security that they are and will be safe. video is the best. legal or not that is the only way I would ever allow anyone from my family to stay there.
I would check the laws in your state, especially if your dad has a roommate. If he does, there might be some serious legal implications for you, even if you have the camera trained just on your dad. Privacy laws and HIPPA laws do come into play with roommates.
There may be legal implications for the person installing the camcorder, but there will be even larger implications for the nursing home if staff is found to be abusive/negligent. There comes a time when legal repercussions are less important than safeguarding the security and well-being of the resident.
My mom is in a living assisted home and we put two iBaby monitors we had used in her apartment before she went to this home. No one has said anything at that place. It helps us to see how she’s doing. Or if she’s asleep. It’s been helpful
The more vulnerable the resident is, the more you need a cam in the room. It is not surprising that there will be one individual who may be heavy handed when handling a frail elderly person, whether to change their diapers or feeding a resident with aspiration risk. I have seen footages of residents being abused by nursing aides on TV that made me sick to my stomach. Without the cam, no one will ever know what can happen to their loved ones and the culprit(s) will be left unpunished. Unfortunately the cam is only limited to when the resident is in the room. Negligence such as not administering medication correctly, or whether food is properly fed to resident with swallowing difficulties may not necessarily be caught on cam. I have witnessed a resident's hands shaking violently and the nurse at the computer just told me he was just cold.
Not saying the nurse was right, but the resident who has shaking hands could have health issues she couldn't disclose to you because of privacy laws. Some people have hand tremors due to medication side effects or a long term medical condition . The nurse may have been protecting the right privacy of the resident by telling you the resident had cold hands. I take clients out in public and I'm not allowed to disclose to the people around us any medical condition including mental health.
Call the state hotline immediately! Report your concerns to them and they will have a professional team handle it. The facilities are scared to death of state inspection.They can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars, lose licensing and be shut down for non compliance. I've worked in nursing homes and saw things change for the better when the state got involved. The state is like a god in the healthcare world. So call them!( If you believe your loved one is immediate danger of physical are sexual assult also call the local police. )It will be the safest for your loved one and your self.
I am a Director of Nursing in a AL community, you have the right to remain and see what care is being given to your loved one, I will say that my care givers will call out if they are giving private care if someone knocks on the door, however that is a dignity issue to protect our residents. That being said at no time can they ban you, if they pull the curtain, pull it back again. This is YOUR loved one not theirs and you have the right to make sure they receive proper care at any time. I have had to report to family members several times about their loved one having violent episodes however I do it every time and let them know what I feel may be triggering them. Transparent care giving and communication is the very key to getting and giving the best possible care we can. It truly takes a village but it is the least our loved one deserves. I wish you the best of luck!
Our mother was in a nursing home facility in AL. What the staff does in front of you and behind the door, is 2 different stories. But I am talking about this particular one. I can’t say anything about the others, like the one you are the Director of Nursing. Most of the staff were really good and kind hearted. Mom became good friends with several of the CNA’s and nurses. But the reason I thought to reach out to you is because of the “curtain law” in Alabama. Maybe you could help me. You spoke of dignity of the residents. I have an issue with the resident and the family not having “total privacy” when it comes to the end of their loved ones journey. The residents deserve this. The families deserve this. Not to be out in the open for everyone to see/witness ..not to mention the roommates feelings..really sad.. curtain law is ridiculous. Facilities should be mandated to provide a private comfort room for the resident and their family when the time comes. When the administrator suggested putting our mother in the activity room when her time came.😡 just thankful she remained at the Hospice facility. That is when I decided something needs to be changed. Could you tell me, where you are employed at, do they offer privacy for the resident? I appreciate any advice you might could give me would be greatly appreciated!!
But if you strongly suspect abuse, or just don’t feel good about the place, have you considered moving him?
https://www.elderlawanswers.com/can-you-put-a-surveillance-camera-in-a-nursing-home-room-16956
Can You Put a Surveillance Camera in a Nursing Home Room?
December 19th, 2018
Technological advances have made it easier to stay connected with loved ones all the time. This has included the ability to install cameras in a loved one's nursing home room. These so-called "granny cams" have legal and privacy implications.
The benefit of putting a surveillance camera in a nursing home is the ability to monitor your family member's care. Families that suspect abuse or neglect can keep on eye caregivers. Being able to observe care from afar can give family members peace of mind that their loved one is being well taken care of. It can also serve as evidence if abuse is found. Even if there is no abuse, cameras can be helpful to observe if caregivers are using improper techniques that may injure a resident.
On the other hand, cameras raise privacy concerns for both residents (including roommates) and caregivers. Residents may not want to be monitored while they are in a vulnerable state, such as changing or bathing. If the recording device picks up audio, then even the resident's conversations may no longer be private.
All this aside, do nursing homes have to permit families to install cameras? This varies depending on the facility. Some nursing homes may have language in their admission contracts banning cameras or imposing specific requirements for their use. However, concerns over elder abuse have led some states to pass laws allowing cameras in nursing homes. At least six states -- Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington -- have passed laws permitting families to install a camera in a nursing home if the resident and the resident's roommate have agreed. Utah permits cameras in assisted living facilities. New Jersey does not have a law specifically permitting cameras, but it has a program that loans surveillance cameras to families who suspect abuse. In other states, the law surrounding camera use is more vague.
If you are considering installing a camera in a loved one's nursing home room, you should contact your attorney to discuss the legal and practical implications.
For a fact sheet about nursing home surveillance from The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care.
And keep in mind the Consumer Voice’s advice that cameras are “no substitute for personal involvement and monitoring.”
https://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/issues/cv-ncea-surveillance-factsheet-web.pdf
You need to get legal advice as to whether it is legal or not for you to put a camera in your father's room at the long term care facility.
If you suspect abuse, contact the State Department of Health and Human Services Licensure Division for Long Term Care/Nursing Homes and also contact the Long Term Care Ombudsman for your state.
The reason I'm asking these questions is that I'm not sure what I'd do in your place.
But I would notify the facility. Is it one person?
When we moved my dad in, we instructed facility that he sleeps long during the day and that they should allow him. They should try to get him up of course but not to insist if he refuses. Just leave him a meal tray. What we have heard from another resident's husband is that they have been insisting that he get up to go to meals and he told them to get out. I know if they try to manhandle him he will push back.
I visit 2-3 times a week during the evening and have observed staff ignoring patients. There are two patients who constantly holler, loudly, yet they are kept in the public living room with the other patients. This yelling really affects my dad and agitates him. He had also begun having pooping episodes that are quite messy. This seems to aggravate the staff. At least three times I've been there and cleaned him up. Once I actually got in the shower with him and cleaned him head to toe while an aide stood around not knowing what to do next. How could this be?
All in all, we (my 7 siblings and I) feel this is a staff issue, lack of training combined with lack of oversight and supervision. They are pretty much sitting at a table on the side of the community living room and not doing much.
2. If your discussion withe the Ombudsman is not successful I would begin to look for another facility.
3. Even if the discussion with the ombudsman is successful you might want to look for another facility, you never know how staff may react. (OK I might be a little paranoid on this)
Based on that, we moved MIL.
Best of luck to you.
we didn’t see anything the short period I used it because we lived out of town. Difficult to do this type in a regular basis. The others are pricey.
beat to find out though.. somehow.
We had a patient once, with mid-stage Alzheimers', who had spent 40 years working the midnight shift. Family told us he continued to sleep days, get up about 10 pm and putter around the house until going to bed at some random time between 8 am and noon, even through 15 years of retirement when he might have made a change.
Night shift aides didn't know how to cope -- it meant they weren't just babysitting the mostly-sleeping folks, but needed to be watchful and maybe keeping company all night. Didn't help much that we were routinely shorter-staffed overnight because it generally took about half the number of staff to cover nights than to do dayshift with all its bathing and cooking and socializing.
But after awhile, and some retraining of folks who wanted to insist he 'stay up' so he could get 'back' to what they thought of as a regular schedule ... eventually he was okay. Eventually aides learned to deal successfully with his eating schedule and so on.
But he was pretty aggressive during the period when people would wake him up 20 minutes after he'd gone to sleep, or try to prevent him going to bed, or try to put him back to bed when he'd just got up for the night.
Another way that patients get labeled 'aggressive' is when a staff member tells them to do something, and they don't do it fast enough, so the staff member takes their arm to guide or coach or hurry them 'just a little.' Quite often folks with arthritis don't like to be touched or grabbed (I mean, it hurts them, so they like it even less than most people) and will yank their arm away ... which causes bruising to elderly paper thin skin.
Then staff get labeled 'abusive' and they retaliate by labeling the resident 'aggressive.' Gets to be a vicious cycle.
Also there are situations in the NH that tend to create this kind of interaction. Nobody wants to be told they have to take their shower 'now', but one person delaying will throw off the whole day for staff. Bathrooms are necessarily shiny, highly reflective, and often slick with water -- which makes falls more likely and more dangerous. Bright reflective rooms are hard for elders to see in, because our eyes accommodate much more slowly, so the first several steps in the facility bathroom the person can feel almost blind. Rushing them just leads to falls. Chief result is that many NH residents are afraid of bathrooms. Which of course leads to more incontinence. (sigh)
This is a serious question, not being a smarty.
Generally, speaking it would be safer (legally) to assume that you CANNOT place secret cameras in a room without permission or consent of the facility. The health care facility is not your property. Depending on the sate, their can be very tough legal consequences including jail time.
If you suspect abuse your best option is to talk directly with management who can use their authority to put hidden cameras in common areas or in your family members room to catch abuse happening.
Your best means to keep your loved one safe is VISIT OFTEN and DAILY and do routine skin inspections.
https://www.elderlawanswers.com/can-you-put-a-surveillance-camera-in-a-nursing-home-room-16956
If you see no criminal activity, then simply do not present the video to anyone.
Please ensure that it is a hidden camera, and it is only pointed at your mother, not any roommates.
After the excuses that I was given from the staff, I decided to talk to his roommate.
He told me terrible things they did to my dad late at night when I was not there. I confronted the staff and was told the room mate was mentally unstable and made up stories all the time.
the last straw was when I got there one morning as I did every day for about a month and they were just taking dad down to therapy . I told them I would take him down and when the woman in therapy took him inside I waited outside for him to be done. a few minutes later the head therapist came out and said they couldn't work on my dad due to the marks on his neck. I looked down and my dad had hand marks completely around his neck as if some one tried to strangle him. no lie. he was real red, bruised up and yellowish completely around his neck.
I went crazy. my dad was crying begging me to take him home. and that is just what I did. I packed his bag and called the medical van and out of there we went. I filled a complaint with the medical board the next day..
no one knows what goes on when family and friends are not there to defend the patient. think twice before you put them in a place without some type of security that they are and will be safe. video is the best. legal or not that is the only way I would ever allow anyone from my family to stay there.
I am so sorry that your dad was treated that way, how terrified he must have been.
No one has said anything at that place.
It helps us to see how she’s doing. Or if she’s asleep. It’s been helpful
I have had to report to family members several times about their loved one having violent episodes however I do it every time and let them know what I feel may be triggering them. Transparent care giving and communication is the very key to getting and giving the best possible care we can. It truly takes a village but it is the least our loved one deserves.
I wish you the best of luck!
I appreciate any advice you might could give me would be greatly appreciated!!