- Elder and Persons with Disabilities Abuse
- Missouri Long-Term Care Laws
Authorized Electronic Monitoring Act
Authorized Electronic Monitoring, more commonly referred to as the ‘camera bill,’ passed in Missouri in 2020.
This bill establishes the resident’s right to allow their loved ones to monitor their care via in-room video cameras.
Long-term care facilities are responsible for providing quality care that supports residents’ lives. Unfortunately, all too often, facilities fail to meet their most basic and foundational responsibility of providing care. Staffing shortages, inadequate training, or other institutional problems, along with occasional bad actors, cause these problems.
The right to install Electronic Monitoring via video and/or audio in resident bedrooms allows families to ensure their loved one receives adequate care at all times of the day and night. Electronic Monitoring helps hold the facility and its staff accountable for the care while. It also provides peace of mind to the resident’s family. Electronic Monitoring helps fill security gaps and protect from abuse, theft, and neglect.
For facilities, electronic monitoring provides assurances for employees accused of abuse. By viewing the video, staffing problems crystalize to management.
Things to Know about the Camera Bill
Missouri requires all long-term care facilities across the state to allow electronic monitoring in a resident’s room with appropriate consent from their roommate or the roommate’s guardian.
The responsibility falls to the resident or their family to purchase the equipment, Wi-Fi or a hotspot, and any ongoing expenses associated with the monitoring cost. Unfortunately, this can be costly.
Missouri’s camera bill differs from many states in that the footage is co-owned by both the resident or their guardian and the facility and cannot be released to anyone other than law enforcement with the consent of both parties.
If you are interested in installing Electronic Monitoring equipment in your loved one’s room, the request form can be found on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website.