Families push for cameras in loved ones' rooms after Esther's Law goes into effect - WKRC TV Cincinnati
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - There's a new law now in effect in Ohio that allows families to set up a camera in their loved one's nursing home room. Esther's Law is for protection, but a couple local families say they are not being allowed to do that.
Linda Roth's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2013.
"She's now currently at stage 6 of Alzheimer’s and needed a lot more extensive care," Roth said.
Her mother has been at the Glendale Place Nursing & Rehab Center in Woodlawn for the past 16 months. Roth says there haven't been any issues with the facility until recently. She says something happened about a month ago and her mom had a bruise on her head.
"The facility said that they did conduct an investigation and was unable to determine how she received that injury," Roth said.
Roth says she immediately wished there had been a camera in the room to show what happened. She then found out about Esther's Law and that the family could have a camera in the room.
In short, the law says nursing home residents and/or resident representatives can authorize and install electronic monitoring devices in resident rooms to monitor the quality of care received in the home.
Roth contacted the nursing home and let them know she had a camera she wanted in the room. The administration told her it would be $200 to install the camera, something Roth didn’t understand.
"This is just taped to a surface. It could be taped onto a wall. It could be taped onto a cabinet, which my mother does have in her room. So, it doesn't require any screws. It's very small," Roth said.
The family can afford the $200 but are worried that amount could prevent another family from being able to put a camera in their loved one's room. Roth was also told she would need to disable the two-way communication function of the camera, which she also did not understand the reasoning since the camera the nursing home suggested also had a microphone and would record any sounds from within the room.
Local 12 also spoke with Greg Fasig. He was also trying to get a camera installed in his mother's room at a different nursing home. He says she had been unable to care for herself for years.
"I wanted to be able to tell her how much I love her, how much I care for her, how much I appreciate everything she's done for me. Just to be able to talk to her as she's going to bed," Fasig said.
Fasig ran into the same issues: $200 for the installation and the camera couldn't have two-way communication.
"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have been able to have two-way communication and the ability to control the conversation and the communication," Fasig said.
Sadly, Fasig is no longer fighting to get a camera. His mother passed away Thursday. He says he still wants to help fight for families to have cameras in their loved ones' rooms.
At the Roth family's request, the state is looking into whether the nursing home is abiding by the law.
Caring Place Healthcare Group, which owns Glendale Place, says a spokesperson will be able to speak with Local 12 about the situation next week. Local 12 will update this when it happens.
source: https://local12.com/news/local/families-push-for-cameras-in-loved-ones-rooms-after-esthers-law-goes-into-effect-glendale-place-200-dollar-installation-fee-no-two-way-communication-cincinnati-local-12-wkrc-tristate-ohio-kentucky-indiana-news
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