allowing cameras and other electronic monitoring devices to be installed in the rooms of nursing home residents went into effect this week — the culmination of one man’s advocacy for over a decade after his elderly mother suffered abuse and neglect at a facility., which went into effect on Wednesday, aims to prevent elder abuse.
It allows nursing homes to post a sign outside the resident’s room that cameras are operating. It also requires consent by the resident or their representative before a camera can be placed in their room. If the nursing home resident has a roommate, the other resident or their representative must also give authorization.
Esther’s Law was inspired by Esther Piskor, who was in her 70s and living with dementia at a Cleveland-area nursing home and suffered abuse and neglect while at the facility.Her son, Steve Piskor, often visited his mother, who required care from staff for all of her needs due to Alzheimer’s disease. But Piskor said the staff never mentioned any issues with his mother’s care. However, he eventually began to suspect there was something wrong and placed a hidden camera in Esther’s room in 2011.
From the camera, he saw aides yell at her, spray liquid into her face, be rough in her handling and neglect her for long periods, as detailed byOne nursing aide, who was captured on camera forcefully moving Esther from her bed to a wheelchair, tossing her in a rough manner onto the bed and pushing her face into her bed while washing her,
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied...