Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Cameras in nursing home rooms, additional supplies of protective gear recommended as legislative changes this year

  • COVID-19
  • by Jenna Carlesso
  • January 7, 2021
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Yehyun Kim :: ctmirror.org

Jaclyn Petrizzo, of Manchester, left, and Kim Boulette, of Vernon, visit their mother and grandmother, Mildred Christadore, through the window. “It’s very important because we can’t go inside to see her and give her a hug right now,” Petrizzo said.

Connecticut’s nursing homes, ravaged by coronavirus, should allow residents and their families to begin installing cameras in rooms, should broaden infection control training and practices, should increase their supply of personal protective gear and should continue aggressively testing staff members to catch non-symptomatic cases, members of an advisory group recommended Thursday.

The state’s nursing home oversight panel is devising suggestions for legislative reform in long-term care facilities, which have been hard-hit by the spread of COVID-19. As of Dec. 29, the most recent data available, 3,532 nursing home residents had died of coronavirus – representing 60% of Connecticut’s overall COVID-19 fatalities – and 12,473 residents had been infected.

Among the suggestions shared Thursday was a proposal to allow residents and their families to install cameras in resident rooms.

“We tell residents that these are their homes. They should be able to use any technology they see fit,” said Mairead Painter, the state’s long-term care ombudswoman and a member of the advisory group. “It should be directed by the resident; they should be able to turn things on and off. They should be able to have this accommodation to meet their highest level of quality of life.”

Proponents of allowing cameras in nursing homes have said the devices would not only permit families to keep an eye on their loved ones, they also would provide accountability. If a resident reports being neglected or mistreated and that claim is disputed by staff, a video feed could help provide clarity.

“It should be whatever tool best suits them, whether it be for visitation, socialization, recreation, or if they feel for their own reasons – as far as cameras go – safeguards and protections,” Painter said of allowing technology into the rooms, which could also include a virtual assistant device like Amazon’s Alexa. “I’m not sure why we feel we need to make those decisions for them, or to decide what protections they do and don’t need.”

At least eight states, including Illinois, Texas, and Washington, allow cameras in nursing home rooms.

The concept has been raised here as legislation in the past, including as recently as last year. A bill allowing residents to install electronic monitoring devices in their rooms was passed by the Aging Committee, but the regular session was suspended amid the pandemic.

In written testimony on last year’s bill, Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, which represents 145 nursing homes in the state, urged lawmakers to consider requiring additional notice and consent measures, such as mandating that staff sign a form acknowledging their awareness of the cameras, and to address security and privacy matters, such as ensuring the recording device is visible in the room and banning the posting of footage on social media.

Mag Morelli, president of LeadingAge Connecticut, which represents 37 nursing homes in Connecticut, echoed concerns about privacy during last year’s legislative session.

“The concept of implementing video monitoring of individual nursing home residents is a very complicated issue and balanced consideration must be given to the rights and interests of all those involved,” she said in written testimony. “Privacy rights are paramount in the discussion and should include consideration of the privacy of the resident, the resident’s roommate, other residents in the building, and visitors to the nursing home.”

Reached Thursday, Morelli said she was glad the issue of technology in nursing homes was up for discussion again this year. But when it comes to cameras in rooms, she reiterated her fears about privacy issues.

“When it comes to the cameras, we’ve always been very concerned and wanted to make sure that any [legislation] addressed notice, and consent of the resident and anyone else who might be captured by video or audio,” she said. “With technology these days, the breaches of privacy would be a real concern for us, and how do you contain that?”

Barrett said the pandemic has put into “sharp focus” the need to address technology in nursing homes, but he reiterated concerns about confidentiality and consent. Having employees on camera may also discourage some people from working in the facilities, he said.

“We do have an overarching concern that a technology approach that is negatively focused on surveillance of employees will make nursing home jobs much less attractive at a time when we have so much work to do to enhance the status of these caregivers and their profession,” Barrett said.

Members of the nursing home advisory group also listed several recommendations for reform in the area of infection control, including expanding qualifications for people who want to work as specialists in the field, making infection control jobs full-time positions in nursing homes, and mandating training in this area.

“We believe that the infection control specialist role in long-term care facilities should be a full-time role, that they could be given other assignments to complete, except during an outbreak, in which case they should be doing full-time infection control and prevention,” said Sen. Mary Daugherty Abrams, D-Meriden, who co-chairs one of the group’s subcommittees. “We also recommend that this position have a rotating schedule where once a month, they cover all shifts, so we make sure they’re seeing everything that’s happening in a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week timeframe in the facility.”

State officials noted they already are encouraging nursing homes to make infection control positions full-time. Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced he was directing an additional $31.2 million in aid to the cash-strapped facilities, but nursing homes that want a piece of the funding must agree to make their infection control specialist jobs full time.

Members of the advisory panel also suggested increasing the supply of personal protective equipment in nursing homes to three months’ worth, up from the one month’s worth, and requiring quarterly fittings for N95 masks, instead of annual fittings, to ensure the right sizes are available. If there is not “adequate” protective gear at the start of a shift, an employee should not have to work until it is provided, but they should still be paid, Abrams said.

Mandated COVID-19 testing for employees who work in nursing homes should continue, Abrams said, and possibly expand to residents. Workers currently are tested once a week. Residents are tested if an outbreak (one or more cases) is detected in a facility.

“We know in this pandemic how important the testing was and continues to be, and it should continue to be implemented,” Abrams said. “With this virus, you have asymptomatic contagion. We know that this testing is very important.”

Advisory group members also recommended that lawmakers consider an “essential caregivers” policy. The caregivers are family members or other people deemed critical to a resident’s well being. In states that have adopted such a policy, nursing homes have the discretion to allow these caregivers in regularly and in ways that differ from traditional visits, which require social distancing, the use of protective gear and meetings in common areas of the buildings.

Nursing home officials said they are open to the idea.

“The qualifications of the caregivers, an approval process, their role in the overall care plan, training, vaccination, testing, supervision, et cetera, are details that we look forward to providing input on as the concepts moves forward,” Barrett said.

The advisory group has not yet finalized its recommendations and will share additional suggestions for legislative changes next week. Connecticut’s regular session began on Wednesday and runs through June 9.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Carlesso is CT Mirror’s Health Reporter, focusing on health access, affordability, quality, equity and disparities, social determinants of health, health system planning, infrastructure, processes, information systems, and other health policy. Before joining CT Mirror Jenna was a reporter at The Hartford Courant for 10 years, where she consistently won statewide and regional awards. Jenna has a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Quinnipiac University and a Bachelor or Arts degree in Journalism from Grand Valley State University.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
‘It’s a nightmare:’ A growing number of seniors are unable to book vaccine appointments as problems mount
by Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso

The state acknowledged Friday in an email to local health workers that some residents are waiting days for a callback.

Vaccinations in nursing homes top 64,000; COVID cases are dropping rapidly among residents
by Dave Altimari

There were 238 COVID infections reported in nursing homes last week, down from 483 a few weeks ago.

Advocates call on state to improve response to vulnerable students
by Adria Watson

State child advocate Sarah Eagan and attorney Martha Stone want the state to do more for these students during COVID.

More than 300 teachers vaccinated at Southbury clinic; State says older residents should come first
by Dave Altimari

Some teachers are getting vaccinated while the state is trying to get the COVID-19 vaccine out to older residents first.

Lamont to lead NGA task force on pandemic response
by Mark Pazniokas

Gov. Ned Lamont will co-chair a National Governors Association task force on pandemic and disaster response.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO