JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Under a new law set to take effect this month, Missouri families will be able to install cameras to monitor their relatives in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes.
Under the legislation, families can monitor the cameras remotely, Keith Sappington, executive director of the Missouri Assisted Living Association, told the St. Louis Record.
“It may give the families peace of mind that mom or dad or grandma or grandpa are being taken care of and they can see them through the cameras,” Sappington said. “They can see the facility staff coming in and out of the room and taking care of the resident.”
Sappington's organization supported the bill.
“As an industry we did support this bill because we thought it had measures to protect facilities from civil liability,” Sappington said. “Our main concern was that we didn’t want these cameras to be used as a means of filing a lawsuit against the facility.”
The legislation, titled the Authorized Electronic Monitoring in Long-Term Care Facilities Act, requires roommates to give their consent, prohibits hidden monitoring devices and requires signage that the cameras are being used, a release on the McKnight’s Senior Living website said.
“Recordings cannot be released, except in cases of abuse or neglect, without permission of the resident or guardian and the long-term care facility,” the release said.
Many facilities already have cameras in rooms, Sappington told the Record. The industry wanted to make sure that the legislation included protections against frivolous lawsuits.
“They want to be sure that the cameras were being installed for the right reasons, not as a ‘gotcha’ reason,” Sappington said. “The last thing these facilities can afford is a frivolous case. That’s why the liability protection was put in the bill.”
At least five other states— Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Utah— have similar laws, the release said.