West Virginia doesn’t allow recording devices, like Ring cameras, in assisted living facility rooms

English Meadows in an assisted living facility in Scott Depot, W.Va. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch)

West Virginia doesn’t allow video recording devices, like Ring cameras, in the rooms of elderly people residing in assisted living facilities. 

While a spokesperson for state Department of Health Facilities said that the ban has been in place since 2004, an assisted living operator says the rule was reinterpreted earlier this year to now ban those cameras in residents’ rooms, which has led to security concerns.

Harper Gardner is the director of sales at English Meadows, an assisted living facility in Scott Depot. The facility, which is privately owned, has allowed residents to use private cameras in the rooms as long as staff were notified. 

Some residents would choose to have one for security purposes. In other cases, family members would install cameras in order to check in on the elderly resident and review their care.

“The way that we view it is that if you’re an up and up provider, you shouldn’t have anything to hide,” Gardner said. “It helps protect our staff and our business by showing we are providing good care.”

Harper Gardner, director of sales at English Meadows, an assisted living facility in Scott Depot, W.Va. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch)

Gardner said that earlier this year, during an annual inspection by the state’s Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification, he learned that a long-standing state code regarding cameras in facilities was now being interpreted to ban private cameras. 

“[Residents] were vehemently angry and disappointed, especially by the residents who have their own capacity and can make their own medical care and business decisions. They use the camera more for security reasons themselves,” he said.

West Virginia Watch reached out to the Department of Health Facilities in an effort to seek clarification about the policy’s interpretation and what might have prompted the change. Some private providers already had policies banning cameras in resident rooms.

In response, department spokesperson Annie Moore wrote in an email that state code “restricts the use of video and auditory devices to common areas, thereby prohibiting the use in resident rooms by any party.” It went into effect April 29, 2004.

“The wording of this provision has not changed or been proposed to be changed throughout the existence of the Assisted Living Residence Legislative Rule. All versions of the legislative rule are available on the West Virginia Secretary of State’s website,” she wrote.

Moore did not respond to follow-up questions about the policy.

Gardner said that before this year, his facility hadn’t been cited for violating this rule despite it going into effect 20 years ago, per Moore’s email. 

Michael Baker’s mother was a resident at English Meadows, where she suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Baker, who lives in Hurricane, placed a Ring camera in his mother’s room beginning in 2021, using it to check in on the quality of her care as became confined to her bed due to her declining health.

“Her communication had declined substantively, so we needed the camera to monitor her care to make sure she was being taken care of appropriately 24/7,” he said. “That was really the only way to do it.”

Baker was surprised when, in March, he was told he could no longer have the camera in his mom’s room. He said he reached out to OHFLAC, hoping to explain why he wanted to use the camera.

His mom died in June. Baker recalled that the end of her life was more stressful without the ability to check in on her care.

“It was totally unnecessary,” he said. “It just added to the stress level.”

Gardner fears that residents and residents and their family members will begin placing “nanny cams” or “teddy bear cameras” in resident rooms. Previously, when his facility knew a camera was in the room, staff took precautions to point it away from bathrooms or hallways to avoid security issues. 

West Virginia is a one-party consent state, meaning you don’t have to notify someone that they’re being recorded.

“Families aren’t going to stop using cameras, we just won’t see them,” Gardner said. 

Some states, including Ohio, have passed legislation permitting nursing home residents or their family members to install electronic monitoring devices in resident rooms to monitor care.

The West Virginia code outlining the use of cameras in health facilities applies to those licensed by the state.

DoHF is exploring selling or privatizing the state’s seven long-term care facilities due to aging buildings and cost.