Maryland Lawmakers headed to Annapolis last week for the annual 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly, and Delegate Sue Hecht from Frederick County, a Democrat, has returned to support one of her bills that would allow families to use video cameras to monitor the treatment of elderly residents in a nursing home or assisted living facility.
Hecht is reportedly reintroducing Vera’s Law, HB557—Video Monitoring Legislation, a longtime bill she has worked on, to allow elderly residents to have video monitoring in their rooms for protection against nursing home abuse, negligence and violence.
Delegate Hecht originally introduced the bill after she witnessed her grandmother experience nursing home abuse by a nurse’s aid while residing in a home, over ten years ago. Vera’s Law is named after her Grandmother.
Hecht also reintroduced this legislative proposal in 2009—to give assisted nursing home and assisted living facility residents and their families the right to install video cameras or monitoring devices in the resident’s room, with consent of the roommate. The bill from 2009 did not require that the monitoring was paid for by the facility—the cost would be covered by the resident or resident’s family, as would the mounting device for the camera.
According to Hecht’s website, more and more nursing home and assisted living residents are requesting electronic monitoring to protect themselves from possible nursing home abuse and neglect, but these requests to install electronic monitoring in their rooms are being denied.
At Lebowitz and Mzhen Personal Injury Lawyers, we support the rights for Maryland residents to experience quality care that is free from abuse and neglect—that can result in personal injury, trauma, or wrongful death. Under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987, nursing home and long-term care residents are entitled to receive a quality of care that improves and maintains their physical and mental health. Contact our Maryland Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorneys today.
Maryland Lawmakers Plan to Focus on Budget, Economy in Upcoming Session, Frederick News Post.com, January 10, 2010
Video Monitoring Legislation (Vera’s Law, 2009 HB 557), Hecht Yes News, March 31, 2009
Web Related Resources:
National Consumer Voice For Quality Long-Term Care, (NCCNHR)
National Center on Elder Abuse, (NCEA)
Maryland Department of Aging, (MDOA)