When you put your loved one into a nursing facility, you expect the staff to treat him or her with respect. Unfortunately, this doesn't always happen. A study of 2,000 nursing homes found 44 percent of inhabitants had experienced some form of mistreatment. Since you can't be there 24 hours a day every day of the week, ensuring your friend or family member stays safe can be challenging. Here are two pieces of technology that may help you discreetly monitor your loved one from afar.
Remote Access Hidden Cameras
Possibly the best thing you can use to monitor your loved one is a remote access camera. The primary benefit of this technology is you can set up the camera to stream the video recording online to a secure website. This lets you view the footage anywhere using a computer or smartphone, so you can check what's happening with your friend or family member any time of the day.
Another benefit is that you can purchase products that have cameras discreetly hidden in them, such as an alarm clock or teddy bear, so the staff won't know they are being monitored. This makes it easier to catch abusive caretakers in the act. If a person knows he or she is being recorded, the individual may perform the abuse in an area where there are no cameras, depriving you of the evidence needed to take action.
Like any technology, though, there are drawbacks. These cameras must be connected to a wireless router to send the video to the secure site. The other issue is some states have laws prohibiting you from recording people without their knowledge, so you should contact an attorney about this option before implementing it to ensure you remain on the right side of the law.
Wearable Fitness Tracker
At first glance, a fitness tracker may not seem like the kind of thing that would be appropriate for monitoring a loved one in a nursing home. However, these wearable pieces of technology can provide you with quite a bit of information about how your loved one is doing.
In addition to recording how many steps a person takes—which can help you ensure your friend or family member is getting exercise—these fitness trackers also monitors heart rate and sleep. This can let you know when your loved one may be experiencing periods of stress, not be taking his or her medication, or is getting enough sleep. These devices also have GPS systems, which can help you locate the person if he or she gets lost. Many will connect to a smartphone via an app, which lets you monitor the device from afar and provide a way for people to contact you if something happens to the wearer.
The monitor is typically worn around the wrist, which means it may be removed when the person has to bathe or change clothes. There's a risk it may not be put back on. Another issue is the monitor must be charged on a regular basis. The staff or your loved one may forget, which can cause you to lose the connection when the tracker runs out of power.
Keeping an eye on your friend or family member who's in a nursing is important for keeping him or her safe. As an added bonus, the data you collect using the technology could be used to fortify a personal injury case if something untoward happens to your loved one. For more information about this issue, contact an attorney. Attorneys like those at Snyder & Wenner, P.C. may be able to help.
