How To Keep An Eye On Your Family Member In A Nursing Home

Most families don't place older members into nursing homes until there simply isn't an alternative. If your 250-pound father is immobile after a massive stroke, you can't risk danger to him or to yourself by trying to move him without help. If your 92-year-old mother loves to take walks but doesn't remember to come home, you probably can't lock every door in the house, go off to work or shopping or a social engagement, and just hope for the best. And sometimes hospitals will only discharge family members to skilled nursing care.

Nursing Home Care Is Extremely Expensive

On certification that the stay in the nursing facility will improve the health of the covered person being admitted, short stays in the home may not cost a family anything. If the family member cannot or will not participate in rehabilitative or occupational therapy, however, Medicare may refuse to pay for the stay.  

According to the According the annual Genworth 2014 Cost of Care Survey, which contacted over 14,800 care providers, the average annual rate of a private room in a nursing home in the Unites States is $87,600. The $1000 to $2000 a week charge for staying in the nursing home must be paid by the patient, the family, or wonderful, wealthy friends, or it is necessary to apply for Medicaid. State-run Medicaid programs will pay for nursing care (usually a lot less than you would have to), but they require giving up all assets and all retirement income except for $5 to $20 a week for personal expenses.

Nursing Home Horror Stories And How To Avoid Them

Horrendous stories of poor nursing home care abound. It's not unusual to find case reports of violence on nursing home members by staff. It is distressingly common to find out nursing home residents have bedsores, or rashes from being left in their own urine or feces, or losing weight because they aren't fed.

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But there are some things families can do to recognize potential problems and avoid them.

• Personal touches indicate personal freedom. If an elderly person has advanced Alzheimer's, chances are they won't have many personal items in their room. But when people are well enough to move around or be moved around outside their rooms, personal mementos, photos, flowers, electronics, and so on, are a good sign that patients are afforded respect by nursing home staff.
• Good nursing homes make sure their residents are well groomed and neatly dressed. If personal appearance is maintained, personal hygiene probably is, too.
• Stable staffing indicates good care. If you meet staff members who have been on the job for 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years, chances are the facility is well run.
• Good nursing homes pass state inspections. ProPublica, which is linked below, maintains a comprehensive database of nursing home violations and fines.

Once You Have Chosen The Best Placement For Your Loved One

It's not unusual to check out 5, 10, or sometimes 50 nursing homes to find the best placement for a family member. Once you have your family member in care, it's not unusual to breathe a long sigh of relief. Life can get a lot easier for you, and you hope you have found a place that will be tolerable for them. But how can you keep tabs on your loved to make sure he or she is receiving the best possible care?

An undisguised video camera without Internet capacity may cost as little as $30, while a elder cam or nanny cam built into a disguise (such as a picture frame, clock radio, air purifier,book, potted plant, coat hook, or water bottle) may cost $100 to $400. In choosing an elder cam:

• Smaller cameras are usually more effective than large cameras.
• A recording function is essential. Usually the camera records onto a memory card that can be viewed on a computer later.
• Cameras usually are activated by motion. When there is no movement in the camera's range, it remains in standby mode. This prolongs battery life. Battery-operated cameras are less likely to be detected by nursing home staff. Microcams usually run 24 hours continuously, or about 3 weeks when on motion-detection mode. If you want continuous monitoring, you may need to see your relative or friend every day.
• Where you place the camera depends on lighting and where your family member spends most of the day and night.
• Wireless connectivity usually isn't practical except for use in your own home, where you don't need to conceal the power source, and where you own the modem to which the monitor is connected.

Four states in the United States have laws that specifically permit families of nursing home patients to place cameras in their rooms: New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington. The State of Maryland permits families to place cameras in rooms of their family members, but allows individual nursing homes to prohibit them. At the time this article is being written, Illinois is considering legislation to permit elder cams in extended care facilities.

In other states, the legality of elder cams in nursing homes (there is no question that placing a monitor in one's own home is legal) is up for debate.

However, there is nothing in HIPAA that prohibits from using cameras to monitor their own family members.

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Sometimes healthcare workers will object to being taped--but isn't that also a sign that you meed to consider finding a different nursing home?

Video and audio monitoring of elders in nursing care isn't a perfect solution to lapses in good care. The tapes have to be monitored to know an event has occurred, and not all abuse takes place in patient's rooms. But for patients who have dementia or who are otherwise unable to speak up for themselves, elder cams can be the best way to ensure they are getting the best available care.