by Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
A South Florida state senator has filed a proposal for the 2025 session to allow long term care facility residents to install so-called “granny cams” and other recording devices in their rooms.
There is no House counterpart at the moment.
The bill (SB 64) by Republican Sen. Illeana Garcia would allow residents to install cameras so long as they are willing to foot the bill for installation and removal. Nursing home residents who share rooms would have to secure permission from their roommates to use the cameras, as well.
If a roommate doesn’t agree, the legislation requires a facility to make accommodations by moving one of the residents to another room.
Recording devices, commonly referred to as “granny cams” when used in long term care facilities, can help bring peace of mind about the status of a loved one, but they come with complications in a nursing home resident’s room, the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) maintains.
“We recognize that technology continues to evolve, but we must balance the growing digital dependence with the expectations that our residents have for privacy and independence,” Kristen Knapp, FHCA senior director of strategy and communications, said in an email to the Florida Phoenix. “For example, cameras provide access to footage of residents in their most intimate moments — bathing, toileting, clothing, transferring, and feeding. “
The proposed legislation would allow consenting roommates to put restrictions on camera use and require that the camera be pointed away or prohibit the use of specific devices.
Nevertheless, Knapp said, there are worries families could be watching surveillance footage “and violate federal privacy health laws (HIPAA) of the other resident.”
Spike in abuse reports
The legislation comes a year after the Tampa Bay Times reported a spike in the number of serious violations levied against Florida nursing homes — between 2019 and 2022, nearly double the reports during the previous six-year period.
The Times’ reporting showed that in 2022, nursing homes were cited 83 times for putting older adult residents at risk of immediate danger.
More than a dozen states allow cameras to be used in nursing homes, according to the Nursing Home Abuse Center, a site that provides people access to attorneys who specialize in nursing home abuse cases.
While the nursing home industry has concerns with the legislation, it is supported by the Florida Justice Association, which represents the state’s trial attorneys.
“We support legislative proposals that take a significant step towards greater accountability and improved patient care for Florida’s seniors,” attorney and FJA nursing home committee chair Nathan Carter said.
Louisiana leads
Louisiana passed its granny cam legislation in 2018 with the support at the time of Leading Age Gulf States, a nursing home group that represented facilities in that state and Mississippi.
That association subsequently merged with sister organizations in Florida and Alabama to form Leading Age Southeast.
“There was a lot of work that went into the bill to make sure that resident and staff privacy concerns were resolved, that cost issues were resolved, liability concerns were addressed, those kinds of things,” Leading Age Southeast President and CEO Steve Bahmer said of the industry’s support of the Louisiana law.
“So it took a lot of work, but they ultimately did support the product that came out of Louisiana,” Bahmer told Florida Phoenix in a telephone interview.
Louisiana doesn’t collect data on the use of granny cams but Bahmer said “very few” of his Louisiana member facilities have residents who use recording devices. “And there have been no issues reported,” Bahmer said.
Leading Age Southeast has not taken a position on SB 64 Bahmer said, adding that the organization’s policy committee won’t meet until January.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
