'Esther's Law,' Allowing Cameras In Nursing Home Rooms, Passes Ohio Senate

The Ohio Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan bill that would allow nursing home and long-term care facility residents and their families to install cameras in rooms to prevent abuse and neglect.

Sponsoring Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said 11 years ago, the family of 90-year-old Esther Piskor was concerned about her quiet moods and unexplained bruising they saw in their visits to her Northeast Ohio nursing home.

“Her family then placed videocameras in her room and caught horrific footage of her being assaulted by health care professionals," Antonio said on the Senate floor. "Unfortunately, this is not unique to Esther.”

Antonio said the state got more than 19,000 reports of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation in 2018, the most recent year for which statstics are available.

The bill, named for Esther and sponsored by Antonio and state Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware), would allow residents' families to put cameras trained on that resident, with permission from a roommate, if there is one.

The bill would require the families to pay for installation and removal of the camera, and a facility would not be able to discriminate or retaliate against those who use cameras under the proposed law.

A  similar bill is pending in the Ohio House.

Copyright 2021 The Statehouse News Bureau. To see more, visit The Statehouse News Bureau.