How Can My Loved One Maintain Their Privacy In Senior Living?
You moved your mom into Assisted Living and while there are many reasons people move from home, your reasons had nothing to do with her cognitive abilities. So when the staff just walked into her new apartment without even knocking? You got an earful. Weâre talking about privacy in senior living.
Weâre not talking about HIPPA laws or medical records, but instead this week weâre talking about actual physical privacy.
When we help a family find that next place to live we follow up to find out how things are going because, of course, we donât live in any of these communities or Adult Family Homes. The example I gave in the introduction literally just happened with one of our clients and Iâve heard this complaint many times over the years. So today weâre going to talk about what the standard for privacy is, why this seeming lack of privacy could be happening, some laws surrounding privacy in Senior Living and what you can do if your mom or dad are not ok with it.
Letâs start with the standard. This is what should be happening: the care staff, management and maintenance all have keys or access to keys to your parentâs apartment. The standard is to knock, announce themselves and wait for a response. But so often we hear from residents that theyâre sitting in their living room, watching TV or lying down for a nap or in the bathroom and all the sudden their apartment door swings open and in walks a caregiver!
So why isnât this standard happening? Why are staff just walking into your mom or dadâs apartment? Well here are some reasonsâŠ
-Lack of training
-Turnover
-Hearing difficulties
-Mobility issues
When we see this, itâs usually a lack of training or turnover, which goes back to training and the new staff not knowing their residents. Staff may also be feeling rushed and under pressure to get to the next resident or project or activity so they donât follow protocol. When this standard is important to management, youâll find it happening less often.
Hearing difficulties are another reason for staff just entering the apartment and this could be on both sides! The staff or the resident could have trouble hearing and I get it! So, knowing this, the staff may announce themselves but they may not hear a response so they just walk in. This could be because the apartment could be larger and your mom is in the back bedroom or the bathroom! In these situations, when staff doesnât hear a response, they may open the door just a crack to announce themselves making it easier to hear.
And this leads into our other reason the staff may just walk in: mobility. Many folks move into Assisted Living because they need assistance. Itâs very possible that it takes a minute to get out of the chair and use the walker to get to the door or wheeling to the door. Do we really want them rushing? Nope, but thatâs no reason to not honor a person’s right to privacy⊠or is there another reason?
Some communities use a timed system for caregivers, whether thatâs for calculating the cost of care or making sure theyâre responding in a timely manner when your mom pushes her button for assistance. Is this beat the clock mindset causing this rush to open the door? I worked for a Senior Living Community that prided itself on a 3 minute response time but the timer didnât reset until they physically reset the residents call button which was on the resident. That means they had to get to the resident within that time frame.
Other communities have sensors at the door which means they can indicate theyâve arrived and not have to rush in.
Now of course if your mom pushes her button she needs help, but is this inadvertently training staff to always rush in?
There are also laws in most states that cover privacy in Senior Living and weâll put a link to those below. This includes cameras as well as locked doors in Memory Care and Adult Family or Residential Care Homes. For example, cameras are usually only allowed if both the facility and your loved one agree to a specific time frame theyâll be used and for a specific reason. This has to be put in writing.
What can you do if this is happening to your mom or dad and they are not ok with it? The first thing is to determine whoâs using their key and walking on in. Most often itâs the care staff so youâd want to direct your concerns with the Director of Nursing. We actually have an episode about who to complain to in Senior Living and Iâll put a link to that below.
There are some other practical things you can do and the first suggestion seems so simple but itâs putting a note on the door. This is a reminder to staff that this particular resident needs some extra time to get to the door. The note can sayâŠplease knockâŠor please knock and wait⊠or do not enter without knocking.
We talked about hearing as a possible obstacle and there are products that can be installed for those who are hearing impaired and may not hear that knock. Bluetooth doorbells with a light indicator which we will also provide a link to below.
Most people would say that the last thing they want is someone just walking in on them no matter what theyâre doing whether it’s watching TV or reading or taking a nap. When you stay at a hotel, I’m guessing you lock the inside lock. Why should we expect anything different from Senior Living? If privacy is important to you.. you shouldnât have to give it up at any age.
If youâd like to check out our blog post in podcast form, be sure to take a listen HERE!
Click HERE for our Doable Download, which provides the resources referenced in the post.
