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Cameras could make nursing homes safer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill., July 28 (UPI) -- "Granny cams" -- as cameras installed in nursing homes are called -- could help eliminate abuse and document substandard care, U.S. researchers said Wednesday.

In an article in the Elder Law Journal published by the University of Illinois College of Law, researcher Selkert Nicole Cottle said nursing home cameras would improve care, but nursing-home owners oppose cameras because they say they would invade privacy and worsen care by impeding staff recruitment and retention.

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Half of Americans currently 65 or older will be admitted to a nursing home at least once, and 30 percent of the nation's 17,000 nursing homes have been sanctioned for harmful deficiencies, Cottle noted.

One in 20 nursing home residents suffers from abuse, according to the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration.

Web cameras, which are connected to the Internet, would give family members real-time views of the condition of their elder relative, and nursing homes could use the cameras as well to improve efficiency, Cottle said.

About a dozen state legislatures are considering laws requiring granny-cams, Cottle said.

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