LCO No. 2624 1 of 6
General Assembly Raised Bill No. 5444
February Session, 2020
LCO No. 2624
Referred to Committee on HUMAN SERVICES
Introduced by:
(HS)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E USE OF VIDEO CAMER AS IN THE
ROOMS OF NONVERBAL N URSING HOME RESIDENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2020) (a) For purposes of this 1
section: (1) "Ombudsman" means the Office of the Long-Term Care 2
Ombudsman established pursuant to section 17a-405 of the general 3
statutes; (2) "electronic monitoring" means the placement and use of an 4
electronic monitoring device by a nonverbal resident or his or her 5
resident representative in the resident's room or private living unit in 6
accordance with this section; (3) "electronic monitoring device" means a 7
camera or other device that captures, records or broadcasts audio, video, 8
or both, and may offer two-way communication over the Internet that 9
is placed in a nonverbal resident's room or private living unit and is 10
used to monitor the nonverbal resident or activities in the room or 11
private living unit; (4) "nursing home facility" has the same meaning as 12
provided in section 19a-490 of the general statutes; (5) "nonverbal 13
resident" means a resident of a nursing home facility who is unable to 14
verbally communicate due to physical or mental conditions, including, 15 Raised Bill No. 5444
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but not limited to, Alzheimer's disease and dementia; and (6) "resident 16
representative" means (A) a court-appointed guardian, (B) a health care 17
representative appointed pursuant to section 19a-575a of the general 18
statutes, or (C) a person who is not an agent of the nursing home facility 19
and who is designated in a written document signed by the nonverbal 20
resident and included in the resident's records on file with the nursing 21
home facility. 22
(b) A nonverbal resident or his or her resident representative may 23
install an electronic monitoring device in the resident's room or private 24
living unit provided: (1) The purchase, installation, maintenance, 25
operation and removal of the device is at the expense of the resident, (2) 26
the resident and any roommate of the resident, or the respective resident 27
representatives, sign a written consent form pursuant to subsection (c) 28
of this section, (3) the resident or his or her resident representative 29
places a clear and conspicuous note on the door of the room or private 30
living unit that the room or private living area is subject to electronic 31
monitoring, and (4) the consent form is filed with the nursing home 32
facility not less than seven days before installation of the electronic 33
monitoring device except as provided in subsection (e) of this section. 34
(c) No electronic monitoring device shall be installed in a nonverbal 35
resident's room or living unit unless the resident and any roommate of 36
the resident, or a resident representative, has signed a consent form that 37
includes, but is not limited to: 38
(1) (A) The signed consent of the nonverbal resident and any 39
roommate of the resident; or (B) the signed consent of a resident 40
representative of the nonverbal resident or roommate if the nonverbal 41
resident or roommate lacks the physical or mental capacity to sign the 42
form. If a resident representative signs the consent form, the form must 43
document the following: 44
(i) The date the nonverbal resident or any roommate was asked if the 45
resident or roommate wants electronic monitoring to be conducted, 46
(ii) Who was present when the nonverbal resident or roommate was 47 Raised Bill No. 5444
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asked if he or she consented to electronic monitoring, 48
(iii) An acknowledgment that the nonverbal resident or roommate 49
did not affirmatively object to electronic monitoring, and 50
(iv) The source of the authority allowing the resident representative 51
of the nonverbal resident or roommate to sign the consent form on 52
behalf of the nonverbal roommate or resident. 53
(2) A waiver of liability for the nursing home facility for any breach 54
of privacy involving the nonverbal resident's use of an electronic 55
monitoring device, unless such breach of privacy occurred because of 56
unauthorized use of the device or a recording made by the device by 57
nursing home facility staff. 58
(3) The type of electronic monitoring device to be used. 59
(4) A list of conditions or restrictions that the nonverbal resident or 60
any roommate of the resident may elect to place on the use of the 61
electronic monitoring device, including, but not limited to: (A) 62
Prohibiting audio recording, (B) prohibiting video recording, (C) 63
prohibiting broadcasting of audio or video, (D) turning off the electronic 64
monitoring device or blocking the visual recording component of the 65
electronic monitoring device for the duration of an exam or procedure 66
by a health care professional, (E) turning off the electronic monitoring 67
device or blocking the visual recording component of the electronic 68
monitoring device while the nonverbal resident or any roommate of the 69
resident is dressing or bathing, and (F) turning off the electronic 70
monitoring device for the duration of a visit with a spiritual advisor, 71
ombudsman, attorney, financial planner, intimate partner or other 72
visitor to the nonverbal resident or roommate of the resident. 73
(5) An acknowledgment that the nonverbal resident, roommate or the 74
respective resident representative shall be responsible for operating the 75
electronic monitoring device in accordance with the conditions and 76
restrictions listed in subdivision (4) of this subsection unless the 77
resident, roommate or the respective resident representative have 78 Raised Bill No. 5444
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signed a written agreement with the nursing home facility under which 79
nursing home facility staff operate the electronic monitoring device for 80
this purpose. Such agreement may contain a waiver of liability for the 81
nursing home facility related to the operation of the device by nursing 82
home facility staff. 83
(6) A statement of the circumstances under which a recording may be 84
disseminated. 85
(7) A signature box for documenting that the nonverbal resident or 86
roommate of the resident, or the respective resident representative, has 87
consented to electronic monitoring or withdrawn consent. 88
(d) The ombudsman, within available appropriations, shall make 89
available on the ombudsman's Internet web site a downloadable copy 90
of a standard form containing all of the provisions required under 91
subsection (c) of this section. Nursing home facilities shall (1) make the 92
consent form available to nonverbal residents and inform such residents 93
and the respective resident representatives of their option to conduct 94
electronic monitoring of their rooms or private living units, (2) maintain 95
a copy of the consent form in the nonverbal resident's records, and (3) 96
place a notice in a conspicuous place near the entry to the nursing home 97
facility stating that some rooms and living areas may be subject to 98
electronic monitoring. 99
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (4) of subsection (b) of this section, 100
a nonverbal resident or his or her resident representative may install an 101
electronic monitoring device without submitting the consent form to a 102
nursing home facility if: (1) The nonverbal resident or the resident 103
representative (A) reasonably fears retaliation against the nonverbal 104
resident by the nursing home facility for recording or reporting alleged 105
abuse or neglect of the resident by nursing home facility staff, (B) 106
submits a completed consent form to the ombudsman, and (C) submits 107
a report to the ombudsman, the Commissioner of Social Services, the 108
Commissioner of Public Health or police, with evidence from an 109
electronic monitoring device that suspected abuse or neglect of the 110 Raised Bill No. 5444
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nonverbal resident has occurred; (2) (A) the nursing home facility has 111
failed to respond for more than two business days to a written 112
communication from the nonverbal resident or his or her resident 113
representative about a concern that prompted the resident's desire for 114
installation of an electronic monitoring device, and (B) the nonverbal 115
resident or his or her resident representative has submitted a consent 116
form to the ombudsman; or (3) (A) the nonverbal resident or his or her 117
resident representative has already submitted a report to the 118
ombudsman, Commissioner of Social Services, Commissioner of Public 119
Health or police regarding concerns about the nonverbal resident's 120
safety or well-being that prompted the resident's desire for electronic 121
monitoring, and (B) the nonverbal resident or his or her resident 122
representative has submitted a consent form to the ombudsman. 123
(f) If a nonverbal resident is conducting electronic monitoring and a 124
new roommate moves into the room or living unit, the nonverbal 125
resident shall cease use of the electronic monitoring device unless and 126
until the new roommate signs the consent form and the nonverbal 127
resident or his or her resident representative files the completed form 128
with the roommate's consent to electronic monitoring with the nursing 129
home facility. If any roommate of a nonverbal resident wishing to use 130
electronic monitoring refuses to sign the consent form, the nursing home 131
facility shall reasonably accommodate the nonverbal resident's request 132
to move into a private room or a room with a roommate who has agreed 133
to consent to such monitoring, if available, not later than thirty days 134
after the request. The nonverbal resident requesting the accommodation 135
shall pay any difference in price if the new room is more costly than the 136
resident's previous room. 137
(g) Subject to applicable rules of evidence and procedure, any video 138
or audio recording created through electronic monitoring under this 139
section may be admitted into evidence in a civil, criminal or 140
administrative proceeding. 141 Raised Bill No. 5444
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2020 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To allow nonverbal nursing home residents or their representatives to
install electronic monitoring devices in their rooms, provided any
roommates agree in writing to the use of such devices and liability for
any breach of privacy related to the resident's use of such device is
waived for nursing homes.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]