Ohio Nursing Home Camera Laws: Esther's Law Explained

Ohio's Esther's Law, R.C. sections 3721.60 through 3721.68, gives a nursing home resident the right to install an electronic monitoring device in their own room. The facility does not get a vote: the statutory conditions are completing the facility's authorization form if it has prescribed one, paying the device's costs, and obtaining a roommate's consent if the resident shares a room. The law does not extend to assisted living or residential care.

Information last verified on 2026-08-14.

This page covers Esther's Law: what it grants, why assisted living is excluded, and what protections apply once a device is in place. For Ohio's general recording-consent law, see Ohio Recording Laws. See the Nursing Home Camera Laws by State hub for how every state approaches this issue, and the existing 50-state statute comparison table for a side-by-side look at every enacted law.

Does Ohio Law Allow Cameras in Nursing Home Rooms?

Yes. Esther's Law, enacted through Senate Bill 58 and signed by Governor Mike DeWine on December 22, 2021, gives a nursing home resident the right to have an electronic monitoring device placed in their room. Under R.C. 3721.61(A), a resident, or the resident's guardian or attorney in fact, may authorize the installation and use of the device.

The facility is not a consent-giver, and this is the point of the law. R.C. 3721.61(B) sets two conditions and no others: if the facility has prescribed an authorization form under R.C. 3721.63, the resident or representative completes it and submits it to the facility; and the resident or representative pays the device's costs, spelled out below. A resident who has authorized a device may withdraw that authorization at any time under R.C. 3721.61(C).

If the resident shares the room, R.C. 3721.62(A) requires the consent of the roommate, or the roommate's guardian or attorney in fact, before a device may be installed or used. Under R.C. 3721.62(B)(2) the roommate may place conditions on that consent, such as pointing the device away from them or limiting or prohibiting certain devices, and the device must then be installed and used according to those conditions. A roommate may withdraw consent at any time.

One term is worth reading before signing anything. If the facility prescribes a form, R.C. 3721.63(E) requires the form to include a section stating that the facility is released from liability in any civil or criminal action or administrative proceeding for a violation of the resident's right to privacy in connection with using the device. That release is built into the statute's own minimum contents for the form, not something an individual home adds.

The law is named for Esther Piskor, a woman in her 70s with dementia who was abused and neglected in an Ohio nursing home for the last three years of her life. Her son, Steve Piskor, placed a hidden camera and documented verbal and physical abuse and neglect. She died in May 2018, and her son worked with Ohio lawmakers, Senators Nickie Antonio and Andrew O. Brenner, to pass the law that carries her name.

Esther's Law Does Not Cover Assisted Living

This is the single most important scope fact for the Ohio page. The Ohio Department of Aging's own FAQ states directly: "Though Esther's Law only applies to the nursing home setting, residents in assisted living/residential care facilities may also be interested in using electronic monitoring. An ombudsman can assist with options in other long-term care settings." The statute reaches the same result: R.C. 3721.60(D) defines long-term care facility by reference to R.C. 3721.21, which covers a nursing home or a facility certified as a skilled nursing or nursing facility under Medicare or Medicaid, and defines residential care facility separately, outside that term. A resident of an assisted living or residential care facility in Ohio has no statutory monitoring right under Esther's Law and must work through the Long-Term Care Ombudsman informally, negotiating directly with the facility rather than relying on a state-created legal right.

Pending Bills Would Expand Esther's Law to Assisted Living

Two bills introduced in the current Ohio General Assembly would expand Esther's Law's coverage beyond nursing homes. Senate Bill 154, sponsored by Sen. Catherine Ingram, and House Bill 809, sponsored by Reps. Melanie Miller and Bride Rose Sweeney, would both extend electronic-monitoring rights to assisted living and residential care settings, the exact gap this page describes above. Coverage reported on the bills describes fee caps tied to actual installation and service costs, added protections for Medicaid recipients, and an explicit retaliation ban for residents who choose to use a device. Both bills remain in committee as of this writing and have not passed either chamber. Neither is law, and a resident or family in Ohio assisted living or residential care today still has no statutory monitoring right; check with the Ohio Department of Aging or a state legislator's office for the bills' current status before relying on either changing the law described above.

If a Roommate Refuses to Consent

A refusal does not automatically move the requesting resident to a private room. R.C. 3721.62(B)(1) provides that if the roommate, or the roommate's guardian or attorney in fact, refuses to consent, the facility "shall make a reasonable attempt to accommodate the resident wishing to conduct authorized electronic monitoring by moving either resident to another available room with the consent of the resident being moved or resident's guardian or attorney in fact."

Two things follow from that text. The resident who gets moved may be the roommate rather than the person who wants the camera, and whoever is moved has to consent to the move. And the duty is a reasonable attempt at accommodation, not a guaranteed transfer: if no room is available, or the resident who would be moved declines, the section does not compel the facility to go further.

Signage: Permissive, Not Mandatory

R.C. 3721.64, titled "Posted notice," reads in full: "A long-term care facility may post a notice in a conspicuous place at the entrance to a resident's room with an electronic monitoring device stating that an electronic monitoring device is in use in that room." The verb is "may," a real distinction from states that mandate signage and make the sign a condition of monitoring lawfully. Nothing in the section obliges the facility to post a notice, and nothing conditions the resident's monitoring right on one being posted.

Who Pays and Who Can Access the Footage

Under R.C. 3721.61(B)(2), the cost of the device and the cost of installing, maintaining, and removing it are paid by the resident or the resident's guardian or attorney in fact, other than the cost of electricity for the device, which the facility carries. R.C. 3721.66(B) then limits who may intentionally view the images or listen to the sounds a device records to the resident, the resident's guardian or attorney in fact, and law enforcement personnel; under R.C. 3721.66(C), the resident or the representative may authorize another person to view or listen.

Retaliation Ban and Tampering

A nursing home cannot deny admission, discharge, discriminate against, or retaliate against a resident who decides to install an electronic monitoring device, under R.C. 3721.65, titled "No discrimination for use of electronic monitoring device."

R.C. 3721.66(A) bars any person other than the resident or the guardian or attorney in fact who authorized the device from intentionally obstructing, tampering with, or destroying the device or a recording made by it. The code grades that offense rather than leaving it unnamed: R.C. 3721.99(F) provides that whoever violates R.C. 3721.66 "is guilty of tampering with an electronic monitoring device, a misdemeanor of the first degree." The same grade covers unauthorized viewing or listening under R.C. 3721.66(B).

R.C. 3721.67 lets the Director of Health adopt implementing rules, and R.C. 3721.68 provides that sections 3721.60 to 3721.67 do not apply if an electronic monitoring device is installed by a law enforcement agency and used solely for a bona fide law enforcement purpose.

Using Camera Footage as Evidence of Abuse or Neglect

Esther's Law exists precisely because a hidden camera exposed abuse that had gone undetected for years. Footage that appears to document abuse or neglect can support a report to Ohio's Long-Term Care Ombudsman or Adult Protective Services, and can support a civil claim. Footage alone rarely settles a claim; it is typically reviewed together with the resident's medical and care records, staffing history and the facility's own compliance record.

Audio Recording and Ohio's General Consent Law

Ohio is generally classified as a one-party consent state for recording conversations. Esther's Law's own consent process governs an authorized monitoring device; a device that captures a conversation outside that process, for instance if it is not properly authorized, is governed by Ohio's general recording-consent law instead. See Ohio Recording Laws for that general framework.

Getting Help

Ohio's Long-Term Care Ombudsman program is the practical first stop for a resident or family navigating an Esther's Law request, a facility's refusal to accommodate one, a monitoring dispute in assisted living where the law does not reach, or a suspected abuse or neglect situation.

Related Resources

• Nursing Home Camera Laws by State is the hub page for this cluster, covering every state's regime at a glance.
• The 50-State Nursing Home Camera Law Comparison covers the full 18-state comparison and how Esther's Law compares to its peers.
• Ohio Recording Laws covers the state's general one-party consent framework for recordings made outside Esther's Law.
• Ohio Power of Attorney Laws covers how a representative gets authority to request monitoring on a resident's behalf.
• Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect covers how an abuse or neglect claim works once evidence, including camera footage, is in hand.
• Surveillance Camera Laws by State covers the general legal framework for security cameras outside a nursing home setting.

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Last updated: 2026-08-14.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put a camera in an Ohio nursing home room?

Yes, under Esther's Law, Ohio R.C. sections 3721.60 through 3721.68. The resident, or their guardian or attorney in fact, authorizes the device, and a roommate, if there is one, must also consent. The nursing home's permission is not required: R.C. 3721.61(B) asks only that the resident complete the facility's authorization form, if the facility has prescribed one, and pay for the device.

Does Esther's Law cover assisted living facilities in Ohio?

No. The Ohio Department of Aging's own published FAQ states that Esther's Law only applies to the nursing home setting, and the statute's definition of long-term care facility in R.C. 3721.60(D) reaches nursing homes and certified skilled nursing or nursing facilities, not residential care facilities. Residents of assisted living or residential care can contact the state's Long-Term Care Ombudsman for help exploring monitoring options informally.

Is a nursing home required to post a sign if a room is monitored under Esther's Law?

No. R.C. 3721.64 says a long-term care facility may post a notice at the entrance to a room with an electronic monitoring device. Posting is permitted, not required, and the resident's monitoring right does not depend on a sign.

Can an Ohio nursing home retaliate against a resident for installing a camera?

No. Ohio R.C. 3721.65 bars a nursing home from denying admission, discharging, discriminating against, or retaliating against a resident who decides to install an electronic monitoring device.

What is the penalty for tampering with a camera in an Ohio nursing home?

R.C. 3721.99(F) provides that whoever violates R.C. 3721.66 is guilty of tampering with an electronic monitoring device, a misdemeanor of the first degree. R.C. 3721.66 covers intentionally obstructing, tampering with or destroying an authorized device or its recordings, and unauthorized viewing or listening.

Is Ohio considering expanding Esther's Law to assisted living?

Yes. Senate Bill 154 and House Bill 809, both introduced in the current Ohio General Assembly, would expand electronic-monitoring rights to assisted living and memory care settings. Both remain in committee, have not passed either chamber, and are not law.

What happens if my roommate refuses to consent to a camera in an Ohio nursing home?

Not an automatic room change. Under R.C. 3721.62(B)(1) the facility must make a reasonable attempt to accommodate the resident who wants to monitor by moving either resident, the requester or the roommate, to another available room, and the resident being moved, or that resident's guardian or attorney in fact, has to consent to the move. It is an attempt at accommodation, not a guaranteed transfer.

Does the facility's authorization form waive anything?

Yes. R.C. 3721.63(E) requires any form a facility prescribes to include a section stating that the facility is released from liability in any civil or criminal action or administrative proceeding for a violation of the resident's right to privacy in connection with using the device. Read the form before signing it.

Who can watch footage from an Esther's Law monitoring device?

Only the resident, their guardian or attorney in fact, law enforcement personnel, or anyone the resident or representative specifically authorizes may view or listen to the recordings, under R.C. 3721.66(B) and (C).