Some States Beginning to Allow Video Cameras in Nursing Homes
The New York Times had a story last week indicating that more people are beginning to use video recording systems to monitor loved ones in nursing homes.
The story focused on 96-year-old Eryetha Mayberry, a dementia patient at a nursing home in Oklahoma City, whose daughter Doris Racher noticed that several things she had been buying her began to go missing from her room.
As the trend continued, Racher placed a motion-activated camera in her mother’s room and caught the person stealing. Not only did the camera catch the thief, it also caught an aide stuffing latex gloves in Mayberry’s mouth and another aide taunting her. In one instance, an aide hoisted Mayberry from her wheelchair and flung her onto a bed.
“My niece started bawling and couldn’t watch anymore,” said Racher, 78, according to the Times. “I was furious.” Mayberry died shortly after the abuse in the videos became known.
On November 1, after public outcry from the Mayberry tapes, Oklahoma became the third state in the country to allow residents in long-term facilities to maintain cameras in their rooms. According to the Times,in the last two years, five other states have considered similar measures.
“Families are witnessing injuries and neglect of loved ones, and the only way to detect what’s happening is to use hidden cameras,” Wes Bledsoe, the founder of A Perfect Cause, a group based in Oklahoma told the Times.
I Need a New York Nursing Home Attorney
We applaud states who are allowing families to record nursing home residents. In a criminal or civil case involving nursing home abuse or neglect, video could be used as evidence. Nursing home residents, as well as their family members, should be able to expect a safe environment, free of abuse or neglect, including criminal behavior like assault or theft.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact our firm today at 877-699-1152 for a free and confidential consultation.
The story focused on 96-year-old Eryetha Mayberry, a dementia patient at a nursing home in Oklahoma City, whose daughter Doris Racher noticed that several things she had been buying her began to go missing from her room.
As the trend continued, Racher placed a motion-activated camera in her mother’s room and caught the person stealing. Not only did the camera catch the thief, it also caught an aide stuffing latex gloves in Mayberry’s mouth and another aide taunting her. In one instance, an aide hoisted Mayberry from her wheelchair and flung her onto a bed.
“My niece started bawling and couldn’t watch anymore,” said Racher, 78, according to the Times. “I was furious.” Mayberry died shortly after the abuse in the videos became known.
On November 1, after public outcry from the Mayberry tapes, Oklahoma became the third state in the country to allow residents in long-term facilities to maintain cameras in their rooms. According to the Times,in the last two years, five other states have considered similar measures.
“Families are witnessing injuries and neglect of loved ones, and the only way to detect what’s happening is to use hidden cameras,” Wes Bledsoe, the founder of A Perfect Cause, a group based in Oklahoma told the Times.
I Need a New York Nursing Home Attorney
We applaud states who are allowing families to record nursing home residents. In a criminal or civil case involving nursing home abuse or neglect, video could be used as evidence. Nursing home residents, as well as their family members, should be able to expect a safe environment, free of abuse or neglect, including criminal behavior like assault or theft.
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of nursing home abuse or neglect, contact our firm today at 877-699-1152 for a free and confidential consultation.
Adams Law Firm, P.C. – Bronx County Nursing Home Attorneys
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/18/watchful-eye-in-nursing-homes/?_r=0 