Maybe you've seen the statistics: a baby boomer reaches retirement age every 10 seconds. Soon seniors over 65 will outnumber younger (under 65) citizens. What exactly does it mean to you? Well if you understand the way Social Security works, the people who pay into the account (working folks under 65) support the people who are drawing money from the account-namely seniors.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that sooner or later the stress on Social Security will put it under. Medicare, the mandatory insurance program for seniors is rapidly bankrupting the country. So something's got to give there too.
On another level seniors are living longer thanks to advances in medicine. That places even more stress on Social Security and Medicare.
When seniors can no longer live by themselves they need to look to nursing homes and long-term care facilities-the most commonly used places for seniors to spend their final days. These facilities are augmented by a new phenomenon called adult homes and other names.
They are basically private homes that rent out rooms to seniors. These facilities are nothing more than a moneymaking opportunity for the homeowners. They often fall short on the care part.
There is another alternative for seniors and that is home healthcare. This gives seniors the opportunity to stay in their own home and have either a full or part-time caregiver come into the home. Some even have live-in caregivers. This is a popular alternative.
The most commonly used alternative is a nursing home or long-term care facility. These facilities are plagued by several problems. First, there is a shortage of beds. That is why these alternative options have become so popular. Long-term care facilities and nursing homes are extremely expensive and with a shortage of beds, all that does is drive the cost up.
Second, there is a shortage of qualified staff. With all the publicity about high unemployment the healthcare field can't find enough qualified staff. Nursing schools are booming. Schools that train healthcare workers are booming. There is still a shortage of qualified employees.
There is stress on these facilities and pressure to hire someone, anyone, even if they're not necessarily qualified. They take shortcuts in the hiring process that can lead to hiring employees of questionable character.
A recent study showed that 9 out of 10 healthcare facilities have one or more convicted felons. 60 percent of those places had two or more employees with a criminal record. Is that scary enough for you?
Not long ago studies were done that showed that elder abuse occurred and as many as 60 percent of all nursing homes. That kind of abuse can be anything from physical, verbal, psychological abuse, withholding of medications, credit card fraud, mistreatment and any kind of abuse you can imagine.
Texas is first state that has authorized the use of surveillance cameras in the rooms of our elders to prevent the growing problem of elder abuse.
The best two ways to prevent abuse of your parents in a nursing home is to arrange for frequent visits by friends, family, church members, neighbors or anybody go check up on the patient. The second way and maybe the most foolproof way is to install a hidden camera in the room of your parents. This way if anything unusual is happening it will be caught on a video image.
Frequently if there is anything going on it can result in a "he said, she said" situation, but if he have visual proof of what is happening it is easy to prosecute and more importantly protect your parents.
A hidden spy camera with a built-in DVR is the easiest way to get that image.
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