Senate Health and Welfare committee sends bill allowing family-installed cameras in residential care facilities to the floor

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee on a voice vote recommended sending House Bill 337 to the Senate floor with a due pass recommendation. The bill would permit a resident, a resident guardian or a health care agent to authorize installation and use of an electronic monitoring device in a resident's private room at a residential care facility.

The bill's sponsor, Representative Dory Healy (R.-Dist. 15), told the committee the proposal grew from constituent concerns about abuse in long-term care and cited national statistics about abuse and neglect. She said the bill is optional, paid for by the resident or family, and includes language intended to protect residents' privacy by specifying placement and by directing facilities to adopt standards to avoid capturing sensitive or intimate body areas.

Supporters and opponents disagreed over privacy, staff safety and operational impacts. Representatives of large providers — Elizabeth Sonnichsen, deputy general counsel for Pinnacle Senior Living; Cody…