HUEMCam (Hospitals Under Electronic Monitoring)
A simple idea whose time has come.
Every day, families entrust hospitals with the lives of the people they love most.

Doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals work under extraordinary pressure, making life-saving decisions every day. This petition is not about criticizing them. It's about giving them another tool while giving patients and families greater peace of mind.

Today, we can monitor our homes, businesses, newborn babies, elderly parents, and even our pets from our phones. Yet when someone we love is hospitalized  especially in an ICU we often lose all visibility once visiting hours end.

It doesn't have to be that way.

What is HUEMCam?
HUEMCam (Hospitals Under Electronic Monitoring) is a proposal to require every hospital in the United States to offer an optional, secure live-video monitoring system in every patient room and ICU.

Participation would be voluntary, requiring the patient's informed consent or other legally authorized consent where permitted by law. Families chosen by the patient could securely check in, offer reassurance, and remain connected when they cannot physically be at the bedside.

This isn't about replacing healthcare professionals or questioning their judgment.

It's about partnership.

An extra set of eyes.

Another layer of transparency.

And one more opportunity to protect the people we love.

We already know it can work.
This isn't just an emotional idea.

Hospitals have already demonstrated that camera-assisted monitoring can improve patient care.

At St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco, ICU camera monitoring helped physicians identify problems sooner. According to Medical Director Dr. Michael Shaughnessy, cases of sepsis dropped by more than one-third—translating to approximately 1,300 lives saved over a three-year period.

If camera technology can help save lives and support healthcare teams, why shouldn't every hospital in America offer patients and families that same option?

Why this matters to me.
HUEMCam exists because of my fiancé, Kenny Huemmer.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was only allowed to visit him for a few hours each day while he was in the ICU. Every evening I had to leave, wondering what would happen after I walked out the door.

One day, Kenny recorded a video begging the nurses to call me.

They never did.

I also overheard a nurse speaking about him in a way no loved one should ever hear.

Those moments will stay with me forever.

I can't change what happened to Kenny.

But if HUEMCam prevents even one family from carrying those same unanswered questions and heartache, then his story will continue helping others.

Years later, our country is still reflecting on the decisions made during the pandemic. Regardless of where we stand politically, one lesson should unite us:

We can do better.

Technology has advanced.

Our understanding has grown.

Now it's time for our hospitals to grow with it.

What I'm asking for
I am asking Congress and state lawmakers to require every hospital in the United States to offer an optional, secure live-video monitoring system in every patient room and ICU, with appropriate privacy protections and patient consent.

Patients deserve another advocate.

Families deserve greater peace of mind.

Hospitals deserve every available tool that can improve care.

Please sign and share this petition.

Together, we can bring greater transparency, strengthen patient advocacy, and help ensure that no one has to face a medical crisis feeling completely alone.

HUEMCam is named in memory of Kenny Huemmer.....not because I can change his story, but because I hope we can change someone else's.