My mother is planning to relocate to a home in another state. She will have some in-home care & her family will look in on her, but she’ll be living alone for the most part. My sibling suggested we put cameras in her home for us to keep an eye on her. Anyone here have done this? Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!
It helps to be able to see your mom in her chair watching tv or at her breakfast table or up letting the dog go out or at night turning off lights, getting ready to go to bed.
I started with one for the kitchen table and then added a Few more. A medical alert was also helpful. Sometimes she would accidentally activate it. I would get a call from the company, look on the cameras and she would be visiting with the paramedics.
If I was concerned about her helpers I could look to see that they were there and on time.
When she needed the plumber, I could see them interacting with her and her aide.
I lived two hours away so it was a big help to me. If I saw something of concern, I called someone local to go check on her.
I found it brought peace of mind. They were a great help for several years.
Some caregivers, or any employee for that matters, don't like to be on camera. A good friend of mind lost a great caregiver for his wife because he installed cameras. He spent months trying to hire someone new, but his wife wasn't having any part of it (she had advance Alzheimer's and wanted her "friend" back).
As a 24/7 caregiver for my husband I have them. Our caregivers are aware and seem to support it. I think cameras are becoming more common and accepted. Of course, my needs do not all reflect the needs of a family member outside the home. Here are several reasons I like them.
My husband has Parkinsons with dementia and there have been times he has fallen right in front of me. It always happens so fast so when our doctor has questions, I often can't answer... what caused the fall, did he fall frontwards or backwards, how did he land, did he hit his head, etc. I am hoping the recordings will give me a clue because one time it looked to me like he hit his head hard and he said no he didn't hit his head! This should also help relieve concerns a caregiver may have knowing they also are backed with what actually may have happened too.
Recently, we could not find his glasses and were looking everywhere. The caregiver suggested look on the recordings. Never thought of using it for that! While I did not find one of him taking them off, I did see he still had them on when he went into the bedroom for the night so we didn't have to keep looking in the rest of the house... they were found on a shelf in the bathroom closet!
He is often "rearranging" things on the shelves so if I know when something went missing it may help locate it.
I feel they also keep me in check for how I speak to him. They help me when I need to be in a different room, I don't have to leave what I am doing to check on him.
One thing I found is the cameras that don't rotate are just fine when the locations are carefully selected. I have a couple that "follow the motion" and resemble mini robot heads moving and did seem creepy at first, so I can see a caregiver being uncomfortable with them. I have the EUFY plug in style.
You are blessed she has family near where she will be moving.
These inexpensive ones from Amazon -- Tapo by TP-Link Pan/Tilt Security Camera for Baby Monitor, Pet Camera w/Motion Detection, 1080P, 2-Way Audio, Night Vision, Cloud & SD Card Storage -- are easy to set up and work great.
They have voice and motion detection AND two way audio. One can set it up so there is no visual (like for a bedroom for privacy) but if there is a loud sound OR someone cries "HELP" it will record and ping others (like you via email) and you can talk through the camera to ask "are you ok, what happened". The camera can be turned on remotely to actually see what is going on, if there is no response. The camera can be "moved remotely too" so you can see around the area if there is no response.
The other things to add are sensors on the toilet and fridge. Most folks open the fridge or flush the toilet in the am when they wake up, if there is NO action for either after a time; it might be good for you to check on your LO.
In my own mom’s AL and the MC, I have a camera that has saved mom from going to the hospital when she has slipped down to the floor and didn’t hit her head. I could prove it. It also helped me see her routines and gives me a insight into proactively addressing a pre-uti (that is when her behaviors change and she is more animated or going to the toilet more). Hydration has abated a full on UTI.
I have used blink (don’t care for that one-there is a cost and the video is limited to a short time period. It isn’t live feed.-at least it wasn’t 2 years ago). I used ring-there is a running cost. I know use Eufy with a memory chip. My fav is Eufy Pan and Tilt 220 with the memory chip. I got a shelf and hung it high on the wall over an outlet. Tip: get some plug in night light and you will not have to use the infrared option on the camera -the problem with infrared are the red lights that are visible. I also turned off the LED recording light so it is just a black face and quietly recording sound, movement, human. The recording are long. And it is a live feed that you can have open all the time. I have an old tablet and it is on all the time. The panning and tilting is a nice feature BUT if the camera can “see” the tv, it will watch TV! Lol. I liked the way it followed by mom but I changed the install so the camera wasn’t watching the TV. AND. Another tip: I purchased another camera for mom’s bathroom. She has privacy. I call it my ankle cam because I put it under a bakers rack that was already in her bathroom. I secured it so it could not be dislodged. This was very useful for when mom tripped and was on the floor. I removed the rug. I saw her face and was able to get her help. I also found out that when I thought she was self-toileting when she went in the toilet, she was just walking around and leaving! Very helpful info. Eufy has a free App that I access from my phone and the alerts you set can be individual for each camera. Peace of mind! And good info for the facility that mom is in when she has been on the floor.
https://www.altumview.ca/
Have you also considered a fall detection device for your mom to summon rescue assistance and the service to call you and your backup as well?
I was not knowledgeable about in-home camera systems and what to choose.
A family member bought a Blink camera for us, and helped me to set it up.
I'm sure there are other suitable options out there, maybe even better options, but this has worked for me. I have it set up looking at my husband, ( he is not mobile) and if I am out for an hour or so, I can use my phone to look in on him, and talk to him through the camera, and I can hear him.
It gave me peace of mind. Sometimes I have to leave to run a shopping errand or go to a neighbor or family member's house nearby for a bit. I am never far away, and knowing I can check on him and quickly provide help if he needs it makes me feel so much better!
If she is independent, you will want several cameras, and you should let her know, and have it connected to a voice activated smart device (like Alexa) so if she needs help, she can activate the camera and let someone know. She will sacrifice her privacy but have peace of mind that her family can check in on her any time! Get her into a habit of talking to you through the camera regularly, so it feels normal, and establish a routine, so if you don't hear from her you know to check.
They can not be placed in an area where a caregiver would expect privacy. So no in the bathroom and no in a caregivers bedroom if you have 24 hour help.
Some states require 2 person consent if you have audio so check the States regulation on that.
I have also found out that if you have Alexa you can "drop in" on someone and talk to them. Alexa can also be used by your mom to contact you. She would say "Alexa call "woe8myte" and the call would be placed. Alexa can not call 911 (unless you pay for the service)
Given the concern is there anyway that mom would consider moving to an Assisted Living facility where she would have help 24/7 if she needed it? The fact that she is moving can be stressful I would hate to think that something might happen and she would have to move again.
If the sibling is the one that is going to be "looking in on her" at what point will she be past the "looking in" phase and have to be making meals, taking her to the store, doing all the stuff that needs to be done on a house and your sibling has no time left for their own home and family.