Memory care cameras legal?

Nowhere

Does anyone with a significant other in memory care have a camera set up in their loved one’s room to oversee what really goes on? It seems that it would go a long way in preventing neglect and abuse and increasing accountability. Certain daycares and preschools facilitate this. If okay for the very young, why not for the vulnerable memory care resident? In MHO this shouldn’t be a facility’s decision, rather the POAs. Exasperated by the continual lock out of families during COVID!!!! I imagine private memory care homes allow. I’d hope state laws would be enacted to tell state aid accepting homes to provide feeds. Maybe even just in the hallways so that families would see that at least workers were entering to check on their loved one’s regularly.

terei

The laws on this will vary from state to state, so you have to check the laws in your jurisdiction.

I placed a nest camera in my mom’s AL + MC (in MN) I did not get permission from them.  It was kind of a ‘dont ask, dont tell’ situation. I still dont know if they ‘allowed’ it at the time, I just installed it.

Initially, the camera facilitated me overseeing mom’s medication while she was on the phone with me.  Later, I used it just to look in + check on her a couple times a day.  The one issue we had with it was that my mom had a tendency toward ‘busyness’...moving things around, hiding things, rearranging etc etc + she would occasionally unplug it.

Since the facility didnt ‘know’ the camera was there, if it quit working, it would have to wait til one of the family was there to fix it.    The facility is not going to troubleshoot your camera, so it could be more trouble than it is worth.    I had someone nearby that could generally get to mom’s within a couple days to check the camera if it quit working for me.

Nowhere

I appreciate you for sharing your experience, Terei. Thank you. 

Cynbar

Personally, I think this is only right if the caregivers know they are being watched. I just think it's dishonest --- and a little creepy --- to be looking at people who don't realize they have an audience. Now, I actually agree that having a camera would go a long way towards relieving families' concerns and probably better keep staff on their toes. But --- and this is only my opinion ---- you need to disclose what you are doing.