Bill to allow long-term care monitoring passes house

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — The Oklahoma House of Representatives on Monday passed the Barbara E. Hoover Act that will extend electronic monitoring of family members to long-term care facilities.

Senate Bill 1739, authored in the House by State Rep. Mark Lawson and State Sen. James Leewright allows for monitoring that is currently allowed in nursing homes to be utilized in other nursing facilities, assisted living centers and continuum of care facilities. The measure also defines in statute the term representative of a resident.

“The necessity of this bill was made all too clear in the recent COVID-19 pandemic,” Lawson said. “Many nursing homes and other long-term care facilities had to stop visits to keep their residents safe, but family members and guardians lost the ability to check on the welfare of their loved ones or those placed under their care.

Sen. Leewright said the bill is supported by AARP, the Oklahoma Silver-Haired Legislature and the Oklahoma Alliance on Aging.

“I filed this legislation because of a constituent who was threatened with eviction from their long-term care facility if the family didn’t remove the video equipment they’d installed to monitor the care of their loved one,” Leewright said.

The bill passed the House by a unanimous vote of 97-0. It previously passed the Senate by a unanimous vote of 46-0. It now moves to the governor’s desk for his consideration of being signed into law.