Iowans could monitor their family member’s nursing home room through a video livestream under a bill advancing in the Iowa House of Representatives.
Rep. Brooke Boden, R-Indianola, said she is “ecstatic” that the bill she co-sponsored is being considered.
“We owe it not only to those residents, but we absolutely owe it to the staff and the facilities as well, because this is a protection for everybody,” Boden said.
The bill would require a nursing home resident or their representative to pay for a video system if they want one, and they would have to get permission from the resident’s roommate. It would allow for a video livestream, but not for recording video or audio. Rooms with cameras would have signs posted to inform staff and visitors that the room is being electronically monitored.
Nursing homes would be prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against residents based on their use of video monitoring.
Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said cameras in nursing home rooms raise concerns about residents’ privacy and dignity. But she voted to move the bill forward.
“I think we need to do something. I think doing nothing is not an option at this juncture,” she said. “But I do have some questions to make sure that we are giving the best care, the most dignity to these folks and keeping people safe all at the same time.”
No one publicly opposed the bill at a subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
The Iowa Capital Dispatch has reported that lobbyists for the Iowa Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes, said they worked to kill the bill last year and pledged to block it again this year.
On Tuesday, IHCA President Brent Willett said the group was neutral on the bill this year and last year.
“We’re in the process of organizing our thoughts and just ask for the opportunity to work with the committee as the process unfolds,” he said.
Rep. Joel Fry, R-Osceola, thanked lobbyists who have had “tough conversations” about the bill over the past few years. He said concerns about confidentiality for nursing home residents and staff have prevented its passage.
“I think this bill has been worked on for a lot of years, and we’re finally getting this bill to a place where everybody is coalescing around the bill,” Fry said.
He said he does not think recent high-profile reports of Iowans facing abuse and neglect in nursing homes are driving the bill forward this year.
