Secret recording camera for mothers nursing home room
May 25, 2019 7:42 PM   Subscribe

I need a recording/viewing camera for my mothers room in a nursing home. I need to be concealed and can be viewed live and record by motion.
posted by JayRwv to Technology (10 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I have a wyze cam that works like that and is like $25. It's not inconspicuous though.

It probably could be, if you made it that way.
posted by sanka at 7:49 PM on May 25, 2019


Search for "nanny cam." They're frequently designed to be hidden/subtle.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:52 PM on May 25, 2019


I suggest getting at least 2, better yet 3. One of which is sorta obvious, like a clockradio. Other two a lot more hidden. If anyone is doing crap, and they are a bit paranoid, they may "accidentally" block the one they know about.
posted by Sophont at 8:16 PM on May 25, 2019 [7 favorites]


Smoke detector cameras are a thing now if you're willing to spend $350. It does do what you want tho.
posted by selfmedicating at 8:24 PM on May 25, 2019


Be careful that use of such a device does not run afoul of your state's wiretap law.
posted by praemunire at 9:29 PM on May 25, 2019 [26 favorites]


Be careful that use of such a device does not run afoul of your state's wiretap law.

As well as any legal boilerplate in the contract she signed when entering the nursing home. A lot of facilities frown pretty severely on this sort of surveillance, for fairly obvious reasons.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:04 AM on May 26, 2019 [6 favorites]


If you have any complaints or suspicion of abuse, neglect or exploitation there is generally an investigative body that will come out and investigate those claims.

In IL that is IDPH (IL dept of public health) and they do a pretty thorough job. An investigation includes a site visit and interviewing five residents one of witch will be the person that the complaint is about.

If there is medical evidence involved (for example a fall which required them to be seen by a, doctor or bruises, bed sores, ect) they will request those records.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but regardless if the camera thing works out or what you find, the investigative agency will likely be your next step.
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:33 AM on May 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


Hi! I'm a nursing home administrator. This would be in violation of federal nursing home regulations, which protect patient privacy by prohibiting video surveillance of resident areas. In most states that I know of, you would also run afoul of state regulations including wiretap rules. Please do not do this. I don't know if you are intending to secretly record your mother or her staff, but it is illegal and unethical. I would certainly report such a camera in my facility to law enforcement. If you are in conflict with the staff, please contact your ombudsman, the Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services, or local law enforcement instead. Feel free to PM me if you'd like help identifying resources.
posted by skookumsaurus rex at 7:06 AM on May 26, 2019 [23 favorites]


Regarding your 'view live' -- if you mean, over the internet, that means you need to get the device internet access -- so you're either going to need to plug a wire into the nursing home's computer network, or connect it to the nursing home's wifi (both mean it's going to be discovered relatively quickly), or it needs to have a built-in celphone internet card of some sort.

Then, if the camera suddenly goes offline, then what? You quickly show up to mess around with the clock radio installed in the corner? Over the phone you walk your mother through how to reboot the picture frame you dropped off a couple weeks ago and then reposition it properly for best view of the room?

Even if you don't do it live, are you going to show up periodically and swap out the camera card? Watch hundreds of hours to find the event you're looking for?

I agree with others, this isn't the solution for the problems that are happening and will likely get you in trouble, better to take another route.
posted by AzraelBrown at 7:41 AM on May 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


Aside from all the legal and logistic issues, If your mother is bed bound you will be recording/viewing her being toileted, bathed and nearly or totally naked. Is this really what you want to do?
posted by citygirl at 2:30 AM on May 28, 2019


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