House OKs bill allowing cameras in nursing home rooms
The Ohio COLUMBUS — House voted unanimously Thursday to approve a bill that will allow nursing home residents or their guardians to install cameras in residents’ rooms.
House members approved Senate Bill 58, also known as Esther’s Law, with an 87-0 vote. It was approved unanimously by the Senate in May. The bill now goes to Gov. Mike DeWine to be signed into law.
The bill takes its name from Esther Piskor, a resident of a Cleveland nursing home. Cameras placed in her room by her family revealed nurses’ aides abused her, later leading to their arrest and criminal convictions related to the abuse.
“This bill ... came from the inspiration of Esther Piskor, who dealt with something that no one ever wants to experience, and that’s abuse,” Rep. Juanita Brent, a Democrat from Cleveland, said before the vote.
“And so this bill in particular, it sheds a light on how we have to take care of our most vulnerable population. That’s our children and our senior citizens.”
For nearly a decade, the Ohio General Assembly considered measures that would allow in-room cameras to catch neglect or abuse, observers said. The coronavirus pandemic underscored a need for heightened remote access to loved ones in nursing homes, especially when the spread of the virus kept families and their loved ones apart.
“This is just a great example of what can happen when we truly listen to our constituents,” said Rep. Jeffrey Crossman, a Democrat from Parma. Piskor lived in Crossman’s district. “It’s only a shame we didn’t get this done a little bit sooner.
“With COVID, I think it would have been nice to have these cameras in the rooms to give people some comfort.”
Under SB 58, the resident, their guardian or attorney would be responsible for installing, maintaining and removing the camera. They would also have to pay for Wi-Fi unless the nursing home had free Wi-Fi.