“VERA’S LAW” - A VICTORY FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS
Nursing home monitoring legislation, HB 149 which I co-sponsored, was approved by the General Assembly and awaits the Governor’s signature to become law. The bill, known as “Vera’s Law,” requires nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, upon the request residents or their legal representatives, to install electronic devices, such as video cameras, for monitoring purposes. The resident or the legal representative is required to pay for the monitoring device.
The measure provides that any resident requesting a video monitor, who shares a room with another resident, must obtain the written consent of the other resident to install the device. Nursing homes are prohibited from refusing or ending residency because of a request for a monitoring camera. The video tapes will be admissible as evidence in civil or criminal lawsuits.
The National Elder Abuse Incidence Study estimates that for every verified report of elder abuse and neglect by adult protective services, more than five additional cases of abuse and neglect go unreported. Of the nation’s 17,000 nursing homes, 30% have been cited for deficiencies involving actual harm to residents or placing them at risk of death or serious injury. That rate is unacceptably high.
Nationwide, 1.5 million elderly and disabled individuals reside in nursing homes. These people are extremely vulnerable. They usually have multiple physical and cognitive impairments and require extensive help in the basic activities of daily living.
There are 247 nursing homes in Maryland. Of that number, 242 participate in the federal Medicare and/or State Medicaid program. Forty-five percent of the facilities are owned by a chain…55% are independently operated…57.3% are operated on a for-profit basis…39.5% are nonprofit and 3.2% are government controlled. In Maryland, 23,605 people live in nursing homes.
Many individuals and their families face or will face the prospect of nursing home residency. No one looks forward to that prospect. Let’s face it, vulnerable individuals with multiple physical and cognitive impairments are unable to demand kind and adequate care or protect themselves from abuse. Monitoring care with video cameras will go a long
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way toward assuring nursing home residents and their families that they will protected from abuse or neglect. I can think of no reason why a nursing home or other long-term facility giving good care to its residents would object to that care being monitored.
Certainly, video cameras have become commonplace in today’s world. These electronic devices routinely monitor activities in department stores, banks, sports arenas, parking lots and convenience stores.
As Maryland’s Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. pointed out, “Sadly, people who abuse patients usually don’t do it with a witness present.” As I see it, the placement of video cameras in nursing home residents’ rooms provides an ever-present witness to the level and quality of care given.
Sincerely,
Eric Bromwell
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