BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Nursing home opposition hasn't slowed a
proposal to let Louisiana families install video camera systems in their
loved ones' nursing home rooms. Instead, some state senators seemed
incredulous Wednesday at the objections raised by the Louisiana Nursing
Home Association.
Supporters of the House-backed bill by Rep. Kirk Talbot, a River
Ridge Republican, said it would give family members the ability to
monitor their loved ones from afar.
But the nursing home organization raised concerns that
live-streamed video could be hacked, facilities' private medical records
could be targeted and privacy could be threatened.
"I mean, really?" said Sen. Norby Chabert, a Houma Republican who pushed back against the claims.
Chabert said the nursing homes' opposition seemed to suggest they
don't want people to be able to see their family members in real time.
"That's kind of fishy to me," he said.
Mark Berger, executive director of the Louisiana Nursing Home
Association, said several states have rejected laws that allow for
electronic monitoring because of the concerns that live feeds were at
risk of compromise.
"If the video is transmitted, it could fall and be shared in the wrong hands," Berger said.
Members of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee seemed largely
unpersuaded by the arguments, at least not enough to stall the bill.
Sen. Jay Luneau, an Alexandria Democrat, sought to rewrite the
proposal with nursing home association-supported amendments, but he
faced resistance to the long list of changes.
The Senate committee advanced the measure without the rewrite.
Senators said they'd try to work out language to address some of the
nursing homes' concerns on the Senate floor.
Among those pushing the legislation is Lucie Titus, who said her
mother, an Alzheimer's patient, was unable to explain injuries she
suffered in a Slidell nursing home. Titus asked to install a video
camera system in her mother's room and was rebuffed by home
administrators. She believes if she could have seen what caused her
mother's injuries, treatment could have been quicker and involved less
pain.
Titus filed a lawsuit to set up the video monitoring, but her
92-year-old mother died in November 2017 before the issue was resolved.
Under the legislation, the cameras would be voluntary. The costs
would have to be paid by the nursing home patient or family member. Any
roommate — or a legal guardian — would have to agree to the camera
installation. Nursing homes would be prohibited from ousting or
retaliating against residents who choose to install the monitoring
device.
The House unanimously supported the proposal. Sen. Dan Claitor
suggested the nursing home association should work with senators to
improve the measure, not try to sink it.
"It's something you can offer your people that they want," the Baton Rouge Republican said.
When the nursing homes raised objections to the live-feed,
Claitor pointed out such video monitoring is allowed in kennels: "Can't
you do that for your dog right now?"
Full Article & Source:
Nursing home camera bills wins Louisiana senators' support
2 comments:
Good step forward. Nursing homes are notorious for getting family out of the room so family can't see what's going on. Now they will.
If a guardian needs to consent, I worry that nursing homes will start either initiating guardianships or getting others to. Otherwise, this bill is a great idea.
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