That’s why a hidden camera may be an effective way to know whether your loved one is truly in good hands. This reality can make anyone feel anxious about trusting a nursing home with the safety of a family member. These facilities offer supervision, medical attention and social interactions that enable a good quality of life for your loved one.Īlthough you may have carefully chosen a home that you think will protect your relative, some residents will still experience neglect as well as physical, mental and sexual abuse during their stay. The same "two-party consent" rules for audio recordings also apply to so-called "Nanny Cams" used to keep an eye on childcare employees.When you are unable to provide the kind of care a family member needs, nursing homes can be the best alternative. "If you see something that you don't think is right look into it, because more than likely it's not right,” Ruth said. The Stanizzi family said they are not facing criminal charges and would set up a camera again if they thought Paul was in danger.
Hoey said if you do suspect abuse or neglect, call police, let the facility’s administration know, or report it to the Massachusetts’s Department of Public Health. In addition to criminal concerns, Hoey said there are also ethical questions involving the privacy for not only health care workers but roommates in the same room. There are no recent cases of families prosecuted for violating the state’s wiretapping law, according to emails from district attorney’s offices in Worcester, Norfolk, Essex, and Middlesex counties. "I think there are any number of questions about patient privacy, and the use of material recorded, but we’ll learn more about it," Healey said. "I think it’s probably something that bears further analysis and I’m not going to comment on that," Healey said back in March. One of the cases involved 89-year-old Betsy Crane, who died after investigators said she fell 20 times inside the Beaumont Rehabilitation in Westborough.Īttorney General Maura Healey said she would consider reviewing the statute that prohibits families from using hidden cameras with audio inside nursing homes. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office fined seven nursing homes $500,000 and banned one health care company in March after widespread reports of abuse and neglect. "If they come in asking 'Can I set up a granny cam?’ I tell them you can without audio, but I don't recommend it,” Hoey said. Hoey said at least nine states have enacted some form of a "granny cam law" that allows families to use electronic surveillance in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and home healthcare.īut Hoey said clients ask him all the time about using hidden cameras in Massachusetts. The workers, Domingas Texixeria and Leonide Jean Paul Bien-Aime, were fired and eventually convicted. We haven’t even slept nights with the images in our head of what was taken place, and we weren’t there to help her," Kristen said. They were picking her up and whipping her around," Dorothy’s granddaughter Kristen said in a 2017 Boston 25 interview. Another grabbed her hair from behind and yanked her head around.ĭorothy can be heard protesting and arguing with her caretakers as they violently put her in bed. In the video obtained by Boston 25, a worker showed Dorothy her fist. The family of a 93-year-old great-grandmother named Dorothy set up a hidden camera in her room at Wingate at Sharon in 2017.
You can't have the audio attached to it unless you have the two-way consent,” Hoey said. If you just did video, you might be okay. The law applies to video when sound is recorded. Massachusetts is considered a “two-party consent” state, which makes it a crime to secretly record a conversation. "Look, it's real simple: currently in the state of Massachusetts, you cannot audio record somebody without their consent," Hoey said. Hoey in North Reading said families run a risk by using their own hidden cameras to investigate. They only wanted to help Paul.īut attorney David J. The Stanizzi family never considered they were breaking the law.
#GRANNY SPY CAM TRIAL#
Their trial is scheduled to begin in April. Maina and Nganga are charged with permitting abuse on an elderly or disabled person and multiple counts of assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability. "Yeah, it's very bad, it's very violent,” said Joe Stanizzi, Paul’s brother. "I just couldn't believe it, I just started to cry when I saw it, I said I can't believe this," Ruth said. The told Boston 25 News, what they recorded, disgusted them.Īccording to court documents, Northeast Residential Services employees Jennifer Nganga and Daniel Maina can be seen and heard hitting, grabbing, pushing and yelling at Paul.Īccording to the police report, the incidents happened on several occasions.
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