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Keeping nursing homes safe from social media abuse

Posted at 9:03 AM, Aug 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-10 15:38:03-04

You'd like to think you and your family members are safe in a nursing home.

 
But the feds are now trying to make sure seniors don't get taken advantage of on social media.
 
There are dozens of cases across the country of workers at nursing homes or assisted living centers posting demeaning pictures on Facebook or Instagram.
 
The images show everything from abuse to people living in the homes naked or even images of people who have died. 
 
Now the government agency that oversees nursing homes is calling out state health departments to do something about this.
 
That includes making sure all nursing homes in our state have policies to stop staff from taking those demeaning pictures.
 
The feds are also setting uniform standards for how inspectors write up abuse, and want investigations into any possible abuse to start sooner than they have been.