Senate Committee Approves Video Camera Bill To Monitor Family Members In Nursing Homes

A Senate Committee approved a bill that would allow families to put video cameras in the nursing home rooms of loved ones. The legislation was inspired by a Louisiana family who suspected a nursing home staff member was beating a family member in their room. Houma Senator Norby Chabert says the legislation is designed to keep the elderly safe.

“This is about (a) possible life or death scenario about somebody that I love enough to want to monitor what’s going on with them in real time,” Chabert said.

Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor says after using cameras to watch his elderly father, he’s supportive of the idea to bring them into not just nursing homes, but assisted living facilities.

“We put cameras in the house so we could check on him.  Why aren’t we doing this at assisted living as well?” Claitor asked.

Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau expressed some concerns about the hacking vulnerability of live streamed cameras, but says ultimately the legislation is a win-win for both residents, and nursing home owners.

“Frankly, I think that it’s going to help nursing homes because I think it’s going to help productivity. It’s going to keep people from making false claims, there will be proof of what happened,” Luneau said.