The Arizona Legislature is considering a measure that would allow friends and family members to install security cameras in long-term care facility bedrooms to monitor the care their loved ones receive. Privacy advocates have expressed concerns.

In response to a series of abuse cases at long-term care facilities, House Bill 2914 would allow an "authorized representative" to install a camera with consent of other residents if it's a shared room.

Brandon Blake, AARP Arizona's director of advocacy, said installing the cameras is a matter of holding long-term care staff accountable for the care they provide.

"Right now, the law is silent on this issue. There are some facilities that allow it, and there are some facilities that have put in their policies that you're not allowed to have this," he said. "But [what] it basically comes down to is, do individuals have the ability to monitor the care they receive? That's the question we're asking."

Arizona would be the 19th state to allow cameras in private long-term care rooms if the measure is signed into law. The bill awaits action in the House.

Privacy advocates have pushed back on the legislation, citing privacy and patient dignity concerns. Blake said the whole point of the bill is to ensure that residents receive both of those "because we have seen instances of abuse, sexual abuse in these facilities. And we cannot come up with anything more undignified than being abused or neglected at the hands of the people responsible for your care than that."

State lawmakers have been trying to pass this bill for three years, but it has died in the Senate each time.

Source: Public News Service