Nursing home room monitoring cameras would be allowed under Illinois bill

By Wes Venteicher
Chicago Tribune
FEBRUARY 13, 2015, 5:40 PM
C
amera monitoring would be allowed in Illinois nursing homes under a bill introduced Friday, reopening a
debate over whether the potential safety benefits outweigh privacy concerns.
The bill, drafted by the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and introduced by Rep. Greg Harris, DChicago,
would allow the cameras in residents’ rooms if they want them and pay for them.
Legal guardians and family members would be able to give consent for residents whose mental condition prevents
them from giving it themselves. A physician would need to determine whether the resident is capable of
consenting.
The bill includes a $50,000 fund for residents who want a camera but cannot afford one, Harris said. Monitoring
systems can run from a about $200 to around $1,000, according to Harris.
“I look at this as a measure that’s going to be there to protect our grandparents, our parents, but ultimately one day
all of us are going to have to rely on somebody watching over us to make sure we get appropriate care,” Madigan
said in an interview Friday.
First announced by Madigan’s office in the fall, the proposal has raised questions among advocates for the elderly,
in part because some seniors are not fully capable of consent. Advocates have also raised concerns about the
privacy of residents’ roommates, nursing home staff and visitors.
“Quality care and safety continues to be our top priority,” Health Care Council of Illinois Executive Director Pat
Comstock said in a statement. “Privacy and dignity in a health care setting are serious concerns. Potential Webstreamed
images must be adequately safeguarded to remain private.”
The bill requires nursing homes to post a sign at main entrances warning that rooms could be electronically
monitored.
Everyone living in a room would need to consent to a camera being installed. If one resident of a shared room
wants a camera and the other doesn’t, the bill requires the nursing home to move the resident who wants the
camera to another room.
The Illinois Department of Public Health receives about 19,000 calls alleging neglect or abuse each year and
investigates about 5,000 of them, according to the attorney general’s office.
“Unfortunately, people who are disabled or people who are elderly and vulnerable can get abused,” Harris said.
“We’ve seen it and it’s a really sad state of affairs, and anything we can do to prevent that happening is just so
important.”
The bill specifies that the footage could be used as evidence in court.2/18/2015 Nursing home room monitoring cameras would be allowed under Illinois bill ­ Chicago Tribune
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Four states — New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington — have laws requiring nursing homes to allow
residents to install electronic monitoring devices, according to Lori Smetanka, director of the National Long­Term
Care Ombudsman Resource Center. Maryland has guidelines for nursing homes that voluntarily elect to use such
devices if residents request them, she added.
If enacted, the legislation would take effect in 2016, Harris said.
This story was produced in partnership with Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the
Kaiser Family Foundation.
wjventeicher@tribpub.com