Ileana Garcia bill would guarantee nursing home patients the right to record their rooms

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 9/21/21-Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, chairs the Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee, Tuesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Florida’s oldest and wisest residents are also among its most vulnerable, and Miami Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia just introduced legislation designed to better protect them.

Garcia filed a bill (SB 64) that would guarantee any nursing home and assisted living facility (ALF) resident or their guardian the right to install and use an electronic monitoring device — a camera, audio recorder or combination of the two — in their room.

The long-term care facilities wouldn’t be able to block the use of the devices or retaliate against residents or their guests. Violators would face a $500 fine per violation.

People other than the residents, their guardians, or third parties they authorize would be prohibited from tampering with the devices. Violators would face a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Garcia’s measure comes amid a spike in serious violations at Florida nursing homes, including many instances of abuse, poor care and neglect. A review of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) data found that between 2012 and 2018, the number of serious nursing home violations in the state averaged about 32 a year. Between 2019 and 2022, it more than doubled to 71 yearly.

Some of those cases led to criminal charges, a troubling share of them stemming from cases of alleged physical abuse. Meanwhile, nursing home residents have said fear of reprisal has deterred them from reporting poor treatment.

The issue has inspired some to protest and call for action, such as Stephanie Sifrit, whose elderly mother suffered unexplained bruising to her private area and internal trauma during a monthlong stay in 2021 at a Bradenton care facility.

Sifrit told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in January that she tried to install a camera to monitor her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease but was prevented from doing so by the facility, which later told Sifrit she’d have to pay a $6,000 bill to bring her mother home early.

She’s since sued the facility’s parent company, 6305 Cortez Road West Operations LLC, and held public protests to call for the changes Garcia’s bill would create. Sifrit told the Herald-Tribune that cameras wouldn’t just help catch abusers; they could also speed up response to accidents, as was the case when her father fell at another long-term care facility.

“The cameras don’t only, you know, catch bad people doing bad things. Cameras can help others support the facility if something comes up,” she told the outlet. “Working in those facilities is extremely demanding, and they can’t be there in every room to monitor everything.”

SB 64, which had no House analog as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, would go into effect July 1 if approved in the upcoming Session.

It includes some restrictions.

Residents or their guardians would be responsible for installing and maintaining the recording equipment, including all associated costs.

The bill also has sections to address cohabitation. If a resident seeking to install a recording device in their room shares the space with someone else, they or their guardian must get the other person’s or guardian’s consent. That person or their guardian would then be able to place conditions on the device’s use, including what kind of device or devices are used and what they record.

If the other party refuses, the facility would have to make a “reasonable attempt” to accommodate both parties by moving one to another room with consent from the relocated resident or their guardian.

The bill also makes clear that residents authorizing the installation and use of monitoring devices could withdraw their consent at any time. In turn, nursing homes would be able to post signs identifying rooms that have monitoring devices.

Unauthorized viewing, listening, recording, or sharing of video, images, or audio from the devices would also be prohibited. The AHCA would enforce this provision.

Garcia has strongly advocated for Florida’s vulnerable residents since she narrowly won her Senate District 36 seat in 2020.

In 2021, she successfully sponsored measures to improve domestic violence centers and advocates. The following year, she passed the “No Patient Left Alone Act” to strengthen patient visitation rights after the pandemic and bills to improve care for students with seizure disorders and boost access to education and social services for youths experiencing homelessness.

Last year, Garcia passed legislation updating training requirements for providers licensed by the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, authorizing elder and vulnerable adult abuse fatality review teams and holding nursing homes to more stringent standards.

During the 2024 Legislative Session, bills she carried that received Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature included measures to protect minors from online dangers and increase patient access to health care costs and coverage information.