Best Place to Buy Hidden Spy Cameras to Expose Elder Abuse

Elder abuse in nursing homes, assisted care facilities and home health care is an ever growing problem today. It has been estimated that as many as one out of 10 patients in nursing homes have some form of abuse.

That could be something like verbal abuse, physical abuse, or even mental abuse. Incidents of theft among Alzheimer's patients for example, are very common. That is why Alzheimer's patients are not allowed they have very many personal possessions.

Seemingly simple things like withholding medications for periods of time can have very serious consequences over time.

The incidences of abuse in a home health care situation are hard to document because many go unreported. Most home health caregivers are dismissed for theft.

Overall the industry is short of qualified personnel, which of course leads to the hiring of unqualified persons. Some with criminal backgrounds.

The best way to prevent this from happening is to get a spy camera. A spy camera is simply a board camera hidden inside common household object like a wall clock, alarm clock, clock radio, etc.

When you need to find out what is going on with the care of your parents hidden spy cameras can be the answer.

All hidden cameras need a DVR or VCR to record images but some new ones have DVR built-in. They use an SDE card to record the images which makes it easy to playback.

Where do you find these hidden cameras? Here are some tips to help.

1. Do a Google Search: for the words "best place to buy hidden spy cameras to expose elder abuse" as a starting point.

2. Track record: look for a distributor who has a great track record.

3. BBB member: look for a business who has the BBB seal.

4. Discounts: look for a business that offers substantial discounts. It is possible to get as much as a 20% discount at some websites.

5. Service: above all look for someone who can answer questions before the sale. That is a good sign they can help you if you have a problem after the sale.

If you follow these tips they will lead you where you want to go to get the best deals.

When are you getting one?

Top 25 Interview Questions You Should Ask a Potential Caregiver

Finding the right caregiver to take care of your loved is not always an easy task. Here are some key interview questions to help you get started. Be sure to take notes during the interview. Always check the references of at least two final applicants. Do not wait too long to make the offer, as good applicants may find another job. If the offer is accepted, the caregiver and the in-home helper should set a date to sign the contract and begin work. Both employer and employee should keep a copy of the contract.

1. Name, address, home phone number, cell phone number, and the best time to call.
2. Do you smoke?
3. Do you have a driver's license? If yes, do you have reliable transportation and insurance? How far from here do you live?
4. Do you have any CPR or first-aid training? Do you have any formal caregiving training?
5. Do I have your permission to run a background check?
6. What type of position are you looking for? After reviewing our job description, is this the type of position you are looking for?
7. Can you perform the duties required for this position?
8. Are you comfortable with pets?
9. Are you able to work the hours needed?
10. When are you available to start working?
11. Do you have any medical conditions to prevent you from heavy lifting? Would you be able to transfer someone from a wheelchair into a car or onto a bed?
12. If we are delayed, go out of town, or go on vacation would you be able and willing to adjust your schedule?
13. Where was your last job? How long were you there? Why did you leave? May we contact your past employer? Please provide contact name, phone number, and email address.
14. If meal preparation is needed, what kind of food do you cook? Have you had experience cooking for other people
15. How do you feel about caring for an elderly/disabled person? Or a person with memory problems?
16. How do you handle people who are angry, stubborn, or fearful?
17. What type of diagnoses have you cared for?
18. Is there anything in the job description that you are uncomfortable doing?
19. Give an example of a difficult situation you handled with a client. For instance, how did you handle refusing to take a shower?
20. What time commitment are you willing to make to stay on the job?
21. Will you keep daily records? Do you know how to use a computer?
22. Why should I hire you?
23. Are you willing to sign a contract saying you will not accept money or gifts from my parents?
24. How will you keep the family informed?
25. Can you give me two work related and one personal reference?

When you hire a caregiver be sure to provide an employment application, W-4 tax Form, job description, and summary of the care-receiver's condition. Ask the caregiver to provide written references, completed employment application, completed W-4 Form, and signed copy of job description, copy of driver's license, car registration, and insurance.

Transitioning A Person With Alzheimer's - How To Prepare Them To Move Into A Facility

Moving an individual with Alzheimer's into a facility such as a nursing home or assisted living can be traumatic for everyone involved. A recent study by the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center has found that there are things which can be done to help with the move. The study, published in the June issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, finds that prior experience in adult day care may help individuals suffering from Alzheimer's make the transition from home to facility much smoother.

In general, seniors moving from their home into any type of facility or downsizing to a smaller home need special attention and assistance. With an Alzheimer's patient, the stress of moving is far greater. Taking them out of comfortable surroundings into a totally unknown environment appears to increase the rate of cognitive decline.

This is consistent with clinical reports of increased confusion and behavior problems so common with those suffering from dementia during acute hospitalization or when traveling away from home.

The answer appears to be a gradual transition by starting with adult day care and then moving into a facility once the individual is comfortable with the change. "It makes perfect sense as we get feedback in the form of reviews from people who have put loved ones into assisted living facilities and nursing homes. After reading this study and reflecting back on comments left, it does seem to correlate that individuals who have made the transition slowly, using adult day care and home health care seem to have fewer complaints."

It appears that individuals who spend more time in day care experience less cognitive decline once they move into a facility full time. This means that if a person goes to adult day care between 3 - 5 times per week, they will not experience an accelerated cognitive decline. A person who goes less, such as 1-2 times per week will experience a faster decline, but will still get some of the benefits over a person who goes directly from a home environment to an assisted living facility or nursing home.

The best situation may be to find a nursing home or assisted living facility which also has an adult day care component built in. This way, the individual can slowly get used to his or her new surroundings and will make the transition much easier.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes on Aging, which leads the federal effort supporting and conducting research on aging and the medical, social and behavioral issues of older people, including Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline.

Information for this article was found on on the Science Daily June issue

Assisted Living - A Boon For the Elderly and the Physically and Mentally Ill

Assisted living is a service that is offered by specialised organizations to adults that require assistance for doing everyday tasks. Assisted living residences offer assistance and supervision with daily routine activities, provide coordination with external caregivers and ensure proper monitoring of activities to ensure the wellbeing of the residents.

The services offered by such organizations may also include supervision and administration of medicines and specialised care offered by trained personnel. The roots of assisted living may be traced back to the 1990's when such communities came into existence and went beyond providing mere independent living or eldercare.

Senior living facilities comprise 24/7 services offered to suit the requirements of every individual. In the US there is no well carved out definition for assisted living, however these care givers come under the purview of the states. Over the years such facilities have emerged as real boons for those in need of specialised care round the clock.

The philosophy that is promoted through these service providers are dignity and independence to the elderly and the sick. The various alternative licensure terms that are used to define assisted living facility include residential care homes, personal care homes and assisted care living facilities.

In line with the various licensure terms, the physical layouts of the facilities also vary widely ranging from small facilities housing three individuals to large houses with hundreds of residents. Senior living has got a new definition with such care givers offering a variety of services to senior citizens.

The Different Kinds Of Services Offered By Assisted Living Facilities Include:

* Typical Resident Facilities: Such facilities are provided to senior citizens who do not require constant supervision and intensive medical care. People who fall under this category are in need of companionship and require some assistance for daily living.
* Specialised Facilities: Specialised facilities such as in-house medical and dental support are provided to people who require such care. Senior citizens who are temporarily incapacitated due to prolonged illness, accident or surgery are taken in and given specialised care by skilled staff. Nowadays facilities are designed keeping in mind the requirements of disabled people so that they can move easily on wheelchairs.
* Routine Health Check-up: Regular health check-up is carried out to monitor the wellbeing of the residents. Exercises and recreational programs are conducted for total wellbeing of the residents.

As a society, we developed nursing homes to offer specialised medical care to patients. However, patients often require more than just medical care. They seek companionship and a way to dignified and independent living. Assisted living offers all these and more for a nominal fee.

Most of the states stipulate training of assisted living facilities staff and do a criminal background check before issuing licences to care givers. Training requirements are categorized as direct care, emergency cases, safety, knowledge, health care related issues and processes.

Direct care includes tasks performed by trained staff directly with the inmates. Health related tasks include restorative and preventive tasks along with basic nursing skills. Knowledge requirements address the need to understand ageing process, psychological needs of terminally ill or dying residents, communication skills and development of care plans.

My Experience Delivering Meds to Nursing Homes

Delivering meds to nursing homes can be quite rewarding at times. Most of the time, the residents are quite happy to see you. They will strike up a conversation about anything or absolutely nothing.

The homes I delivered to had very friendly and dedicated staff. And this showed in the residents. I personally give these people a lot of credit. They are kind, caring and really love the residents they take care of.

One resident in particular made me smile every time I was there. She was in the same spot everyday when I arrived. Situated in her chair beside the windows to the courtyard, and everyday as she looked out the window, she would ask what it was doing outside. I would give her the weather report and her response was a kind look, a smile and a thank you. Mind you, this was everyday. It never changed. I hope she is doing well. I no longer deliver meds, so I don't get to see her.

It was funny the names I was given. They knew I was delivering their medications, but I was called in loud voices, the candy lady and our drug pusher. They always made me laugh.

I really didn't mind losing the job. But the reason I won't miss the job is because it really started to bother me as to the amount of prescription drugs I was delivering to these elderly people. I can't reconcile in my mind why an 87- year old person would need 23 prescriptions on admission. I am not in the medical field, but I just can't deal with this in my mind.

The orders are from the doctors who know what they are doing, but it was bothering me tremendously that I was the one bringing it to the residents.

Long Term Care Issues Facing Baby Boomers Today

Millions of baby boomers in the United States are not fully aware of the importance of insuring their health. Many of them do things to protect their assets, but they fail to realize the fact that long-term care is the biggest financial risk of their lives. They also don't know exactly how to deal with the expenses of long term care they will incur in the future.

A large percentage of baby boomers may need extended care when they hit their retirement years. Yet, fewer than half of them have taken measures to prepare for it. This lack of preparation can lead to financial disasters. For one thing, the expenses needed to support baby boomers are expensive. On average, nursing home care amounts to US$74,600 per year. With nursing home stays averaging 2.4 years, the overall amount of extended care is expected to reach $8.88 trillion over the next 19 years.

At present, there are estimated 78.2 million baby boomers in the USA. These are the people who were born during the post-World War II era, from 1946 to 1964. Annually, Americans spend about US$200 billion on long term care services. 51% of this amount is paid by individual policy holders and private LTCi providers. The remaining percentage is paid by Medicaid. However, we can expect a sudden change in these percentages when the baby boomers reach their golden years. There is also a great deal of speculation about whether or not Medicaid will be able to support the increasing number of seniors needing care in the coming decades.

The baby boom generation faces various issues today. One of them is the escalating costs of living and medical expenditures. Amidst the advancements in medical technology, the expenses of health care for senior citizens continue to rise. Baby boomers who don't plan their post-retirement care costs are at risk of a financial crisis.

Many of them think that regular health insurance would be enough to address their care needs, but they are absolutely wrong in this assumption. Long term care costs will not be covered by medical insurance and social security benefits. Long term care insurance for baby boomers is the only type of policy that would cover the expenses for caregiving services and activities of daily living (ADLs). LTCi is designed to provide coverage for various services for the elderly and disabled who requires care and assistance at home, nursing institution or assisted living facility.

As a matter of fact, combined health care plans and Medicare benefits pay only about 3% of extended care expenditures. Also, an individual can only be eligible to government-funded Medicaid benefits if he or she lives below the poverty level or has low-income and limited assets. To confront such issues, the baby boom generation should plan their future care needs by getting long term care insurance for baby boomers. Understanding the costs of LTCi plans will help a baby boomer in making the right choice to ensure a quality long-term care.

You Need to Take the CNA Certification Test to Become a Certified Nursing Assistant

You will need to be ready to take tests if you want to complete your CNA certification. A CNA certification is what you need if you want to work as a certified nursing assistant. As the name implies, you will complete various tasks for patients in order to assist nurses. If you work in a home health setting, you will be providing services for patients on your own at most times with a nurse most likely serving as your supervisor.

In order to work as a certified rather than a non-certified nursing assistant, you need to complete CNA training. You will want to find a CNA training program that makes you eligible to sit for the CNA certification test upon completion of the course. These programs can often be found at local community colleges, in healthcare facilities, branches of the Red Cross and some nursing schools.

During the training course you will learn the skills you need to provide good care for your patients. Throughout the course, you might be given tests to track your progress and to make sure you have a good understanding of the material being covered. It is important to strive for good scores on these tests.

You should save any tests that you take during your CNA certification training. These tests will be helpful when it comes time to study for the CNA certification test. You should pay careful attention to any questions that you miss so that the same questions will not trip you up when you are going to be certified.

It is relatively easy to effectively for the CNA certification test. Your instructor might be able to provide you with practice exams and sample questions. You can purchase study guides that will help you to get ready for the exam. Demonstration videos can also provide a good resource when studying to become a certified nursing assistant.

You will need to practice a variety of nursing assistant skills in preparation for your test. In part, you can do this by verbally walking yourself through the steps of common duties that you will need to do as a CNA. You can ask family members or friends to act as if they are your patients to allow you to practice some of your skills.

When you go to take the CNA certification test, be prepared to take a written portion first. This part will have multiple-choice questions, usually about 100 in number. You will need to complete that test before you can move on to the skills portion. During the skills part of your test, you will demonstrate several different skills to your testing administrator.

You cannot move forward as a CNA until you receive a passing score on the test. If you do not pass the first time, you should not feel bad. It is not uncommon for some people to fail their first test. It might be something as simple as you having been too nervous for the exam. Try to calm your nerves and to give yourself some encouragement in order to do well on the next test.