Baby boomers are starting to turn 65 this year. They are doing so at the rate of 30,000 per month. This rapid influx of seniors into our retirement is placing an enormous strain on nursing homes, assisted living facilities, long-term care facilities and whatever you want to call them. Not only is there a shortage of beds but there's a shortage of qualified staff to take care of the influx of patients.
Recently there was a lot of publicity raised by actor Mickey Rooney who testified before Congress on some of the problems he had. He did that to raise awareness of a growing problem. The problem is actually twofold.
It is well-documented that six out of every 10 nursing homes have some type of elder abuse. That can be manifested in a variety of ways from verbal, physical, psychological-practically any way that you can abuse somebody, it happens in a nursing home.
The second problem and you're not going to believe this; nine out of every 10 senior facilities has one or more convicted criminals. That fact from a recent GAO report! Scary enough for you?
There are two ways that you might be able to prevent abuse of your parents in a nursing home or other facility.
The first seems pretty obvious but it's very effective. That is to visit your parents on a frequent and regular basis and get other people involved in the process. The more visitors you have to keep an eye on your parents the better. Make sure they know what to look for and talk to the elders about what's going on in their facility. Not only will that provide evidence of something that is going on but may serve as a warning to anybody who might consider harming them.
The second way is to install a hidden spy camera. This may seem far-fetched to you but recently there was a case in Alabama where the daughter of nursing home patient noticed unexplained bruises on her dad's arms. She installed a hidden camera that caught a caregiver repeatedly striking her father and removing her dad's oxygen mask without authorization.
If you think these are isolated instances you are dead wrong.
A spy camera is the most effective tool in the marketplace today at catching people doing things they shouldn't be doing. That's why the CIA, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies use them for decades as part of their undercover sting operations. News organizations use them for undercover "stings" that are some of the most sensational stories you see on TV.
Hidden security cameras work for them-they will work for you. When are you getting one?
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