After a Woman Had Her Throat Cut at a Care Center, Ohio May Let Cameras Into Patients’ Rooms

A woman with developmental challenges who was 36 years old was found dead in her room. Now, lawmakers want to let families put up cameras to stop abuse and neglect.

Ohio might make it so that people who live in or are guardians of people who live in care facilities can put cameras in their rooms.

A bill backed by Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, would let cameras be used in places where people with developmental disabilities live to stop abuse and neglect. A 36-year-old woman with developmental problems named Lauren Carter was slashed in a Fairfield facility. The law would be named after her.

In April, Greg Carter, Lauren’s father, spoke in favor of the bill and talked about 13 of the most odd things that the county boards of developmental disabilities had seen with his daughter. Carter broke his collarbone and was left on a hot bus twice, among other things.

Carter said that his daughter had a four-inch cut on her throat. His voice shook as he talked about it.

At the meeting for the bill, he said, “Accidents do happen, but Lauren’s life has not been full of accidents; Lauren’s life has been full of atrocities.”

Carter has taken Takoda Trails to court in Hamilton County alleging that it is guilty of certain crimes. In July 2025, there will be a trial with a jury.

Carter told the court that the police investigation into the cut could not find a foreign source, and that the only staff member who was there at the time was fired for not helping with the investigation.

In court papers, Takoda Trails denied the specific claims.

Carter told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau that Lauren was kicked out of the building because he put a camera in her room and talked to a Cincinnati news station about it. He said that his role as Lauren’s guardian was called into question after the interview, and a guardian ad litem suggested care centers for Lauren near Toledo and Cleveland. Carter doesn’t live in Cincinnati.

It was Carter’s wish to check on Lauren from afar and see if she was okay, but the facility did not allow a camera to be in Lauren’s room.

“These care facilities could have told me, ‘No, you can’t put a camera in her room.'” If you put a camera in her room, we won’t take her. So, I’ve had emails with Butler County officials asking, “Hey, will you drop this camera requirement?” He asked, “Do you know her history?”

The bill uses some of the same language as Esther’s Law, which became law in 2022 and let cams be put in nursing homes.

The person who lives with a resident would have to agree to a camera being in their room, just like with Esther’s Law.

The bill also says that the Department of Medicaid has to make a permit for services that help people with developmental disabilities live in their own homes or in the community. The waiver would give the person’s guardians monthly payments to cover the cost of their services.

Carter said he would rather care for his daughter at home, which he could do if there were the same tools for and families.

“We ended up bringing her home for a little while, but we became penniless rather quickly,” he shared. “There’s not much to offer. You can’t work while taking care of someone because there aren’t enough tools for that.