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A laundry list of recommendation to fix problems that led to the neglect and deaths of residents in assisted living facilities was given to state lawmakers today. Two senate committees joined forces to review the recommendations and discuss how they would be implemented. As Whitney Ray tells us, senators say they can’t let another session pass without reforming the industry.

The 12 deaths laid out in this senate committee report are gruesome. A 74 year old woman in Kendall, tied up for six hours, died trying to free herself. In Hialeah a 71 year old man was left in a tub of scalding hot water. The burns later killed him. The list goes on. The victims were residents of assisted living facilities in Florida.

Randy Gray can sympathize. He lost both his parents in separate nursing home accidents that could have been prevented.

“She was calling out for help but the people there considered her to be a complainer so they said they would catch her some other time,” said Gray.

Grey told a joint senate committee Thursday the only way to stop neglect is to put cameras in resident’s rooms.

Grey says the great thing about a camera is it can be hooked up online and family members using a pass code can watch their loved ones anywhere there is an internet connection.

Cameras were not part of a list of recommended fixes given to lawmakers. The list includes shutting down bad facilities sooner and giving the ombudsman more authority.

Brian Lee is Florida’s former ombudsman. He was let go after asking too many questions. Lee says the reforms area a good start.

“We would refer things to the agencies and then they would go out there, not see them and there would be no justice for the residents, so this really gives the ombudsman and opportunity to have more teeth,” said Lee.

Members of the joint committee say they can’t let another session pass without major reforms and have committed to drafting a bill. Other fixes include allowing the ombudsman to talk to reporters and penalizing assisted living facilities for past problems, even if the situation is fixed once the state investigates.