John and Terri Hale own The Hale Group, an Ankeny-based firm advocating for older Iowans and Iowans with disabilities.
It was disturbing, frustrating and sickening. But it was not surprising. And it’s happened six years in a row.
Behind closed doors, secretively and quietly, Iowa Senate Republicans once again killed a bill that would improve, and possibly save, the lives of nursing home residents.
The bill would protect the right of loved ones of nursing home residents to install video cameras in their rooms. The camera would allow families near and far to check in on their moms, dads, grandparents or others to make sure they are well, safe, and receiving good care.
No one’s privacy would be violated. The cameras would be allowed only if the resident and loved ones—and a roommate if there was one—gave their express permission.
For loved ones, the cameras would ensure peace of mind. For facilities, they would ensure accountability for the quality of care being provided.
Republicans are responsible for this bill’s death each year. They have controlled the Iowa House and Senate every year the measure was buried.
This year, seven Republicans who serve on the Senate Technology Committee met in private and decided again to kill the bill, denying additional public input and the right of Republican and Democratic colleagues to publicly debate and vote. For more detail, see Clark Kauffman’s story for Iowa Capital Dispatch: “Senate panel rejects bill to ensure care facility residents can use ‘granny cams’.”
Why do Republicans prevent the debate and vote?
We believe it’s because nursing home lobbyists have told party leaders to do so.
What happens and how at the Iowa statehouse is basic, but sordid.
It’s a “you scratch mine and I’ll scratch yours” system. Lobbyists for the nursing home industry, along with nursing home owners and executives, give legislators what they want: a lot of cash to fund re-election campaigns. In return, legislators give nursing homes what they want: millions more tax dollars via the Medicaid program to fund operations with no expectations for how the dollars are used, and no questions about what they accomplish. And no cameras in rooms!
For more insight, see Todd Dorman’s recent column in the Cedar Rapids Gazette: “Iowa GOP hearts the nursing home industry.”
What are nursing homes hiding?
Why does the nursing home industry want to deny families and residents the right to have cameras in their rooms?
Good nursing homes don’t fear cameras. They’ve got nothing to hide.
Poorly operating nursing homes, however, do have things to hide. The last thing they want is more people with video evidence of what goes on inside the walls—low staffing levels, a lack of response to call lights, inadequately trained staff, or poor quality of care.
The industry does not want sunlight on its facilities. They know that negative headlines about poorly serving ones tarnish the entire industry.
Cameras in rooms would enhance the quality of care.
Facility owners, leaders and staff would know that they would be held accountable for the type and level of service provided. The better facilities would be rewarded with more customers. The inadequate ones would lose them; maybe even go out of business.
That’s the way the economy is supposed to work.
Cameras are a symptom of the real problem.
The real problem is the quality of care in nursing homes. The clamor for cameras would subside if Iowans had confidence that homes were providing the care residents deserve.
We’ve talked and written about the lack of quality care in nursing homes for over a decade. (See “It’s time for accountability for nursing home quality.”) Elected leaders have ignored known solutions to the problems all that time.
Allowing camera use in rooms is low-hanging fruit. Twenty states already do. It’s an easy, inexpensive, and common sense step, which the legislature should take this year.
What can you do?
Here are a few ideas:
- Contact your legislative representative and insist they bring the camera bill back to life.
- Stop supporting elected officials who don’t support you.
- Elect a governor who commits to providing strong leadership on quality-of-care issues. The weight of the office can drive legislative action.
Our next governor can choose to maintain the status quo or be the champion for nursing home residents and their families.
The choice is yours to make. Vote as if your life depends on it, because, in many ways, it does.
Top image is by Unai Huizi Photography, available via Shutterstock.