Big Brother
Toward the end of her life, my grandma had to spend time in a nursing home. She had dementia and would forget to take her medication, which only made things worse. Unfortunately, because of her memory issues, she would misplace things. It was understandably easier for her to blame the staff for stealing her stuff than to admit she forgot where she put something.
Tragically, there are a few employees of long-term care facilities that do steal items from their residents. With the recent exodus of employees from the health care industry, most facilities are desperate for help. As a result, they are understaffed and some of the workers they can find are underqualified and not the most desirable hires.
In addition to being victims of theft, long-term care residents are sometimes neglected, or worse, abused. Prosecuting these cases can be difficult, however, because residents are reluctant to accuse those that care for them out of fear of retaliation, or they are afraid of testifying in court. Additionally, if they have memory issues, their accusations, or ultimate testimony, may not be taken seriously.
For this reason, more and more states are looking at implementing “granny cam” laws. There are currently 17 states that may allow cameras to monitor seniors’ caregivers. They include Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Florida and Pennsylvania have introduced bills this year. Pennsylvania’s measure permits the installation of video cameras in long-term care facility residents’ rooms “to provide another tool for families of residents to monitor the care their loved ones receive,” according to a memorandum. The bill is modeled after Esther’s Law, which was passed in Ohio in 2022, and named after Esther Piskor, a state resident whose abuse was captured on a surveillance camera set up in her room by her son.
Granny cam laws are intended to hopefully prevent, but at least detect, abusive situations. While opponents of these laws concede the benefits, they fear they’re outweighed by the invasion of seniors’ privacy.
To address this dichotomy, Pennsylvania’s bill includes a residents’ rights provision. “As all residents of long-term care facilities have a right to dignity, respect and privacy, the legislation requires the consent of anyone residing in the room before the monitoring device can be installed,” the proposal reads.
If passed, Pennsylvania’s law would also prohibit discrimination or retaliation against residents who do choose to install electronic monitoring devices and would restrict anyone in the facility from tampering with the device and its recordings.
In 2018, the Wisconsin Department of Justice unveiled the Safe Seniors Camera Program. The program allows family members of seniors to contact local law enforcement agencies to obtain free surveillance cameras with memory cards so they can record caregivers suspected of hurting their loved ones.
The cameras are only allowed in residents’ homes and not in long-term care facilities, and for only up to 30 days. They only record video, but no audio. The cameras cannot be placed in bathrooms or in the caregiver’s bedroom and at least one party, such as the resident, must be aware that they are being recorded.
Then-Attorney General Brad Schimel said it should make preying on the elderly harder to get away with. “Anybody caring for a senior probably should think if they’re misbehaving, they could get caught for it,” he said.
By the time my kids are nursing home-age, this won’t be a problem because they’re constantly filming themselves anyway.
Reg P. Wydeven
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