The insurance industry estimates the cost of Kentucky nursing home care at $45,114 per year. What kind of care should you or a loved one expect for more than $3,700 a month?

There are more than 300 long-term care facilities in Kentucky that care for nearly 30,000 residents, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky nursing home lawyers continue to fight for the dignity of elderly residents in Kentucky nursing home neglect and abuse cases.

At Crocker Law Offices we believe it is the duty of everyone who visits a nursing home to help police the system. While there are many fine nursing facilities, it is equally true that state and federal budget cuts, for-profit homes operated by large companies, crowding, dementia and mental health issues, poorly paid and trained staff, and a host of other issues all too often leave our most vulnerable adults exposed to neglect and abuse.

The federal government estimates than about half of us will spend time in a nursing facility at some point in our lives. The National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform estimates that at least 1 in 3 nursing home residents in the United States suffers from malnutrition and dehydration, with a lack of adequately trained personnel and high staff turnover being largely to blame.

Nationwide, there are more than 16,000 nursing homes caring for 1.7 million residents, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. More than half of the nation's nursing homes are part of large chain corporations, and two-thirds are operated as for-profit businesses, according to the American Health Care Association.

Nursing home neglect can include failure to assist residents with body positioning, which can lead to bed sores, muscle and joint problems, and other health complications; lack of toileting or changing disposable garments; failure to assist with proper nourishment; failure to provide opportunities for walking or other light exercise; lack of bathing; failure to provide assistance with participating in activities; ignoring bells or cries for help; and failure to properly medicate or overmedicating.

In fact, Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform has a lengthy agenda of nursing home improvements it says are necessary for the safety of our seniors, including improved staffing standards, a uniform rating system, transparency in ownership and enforcement, oral health for residents, criminal background checks and random drug testing for employees, additional training for Alzheimer's caregivers, regulation of the practice of dumping residents in out-of-state nursing facilities, and the overuse of anti-psychotic medication to "quiet" residents.

Tragically, many neglect and abuse cases go unreported because of dementia, a fear of retaliation or because a neglected or abused senior doesn't want to burden family members with the problem.

Abuse is the intentional cause of harm or pain to a resident in a nursing facility and can include physical, mental, verbal or psychological abuse as well as sexual abuse, corporal punishment, intimidation or unreasonable seclusion.

• Physical abuse: Can include a staff member, visitor, other resident or intruder and can involve hitting, pinching, shoving, force-feeding, slapping, spitting, punching or scratching.
• Psychological or emotional abuse: Includes berating, yelling, cursing, ignoring, ridiculing, threatening or other forms of deprivation or punishment.
• Sexual abuse: Includes improper touching or coercion to perform sex acts.
• Misappropriate or theft of money or property: Failure to place a resident's funds in separate interest-bearing accounts when required, or the theft or embezzlement of money or property.

If you need to speak with a Bowling Green, Kentucky nursing home attorney, Crocker Law Offices offers free and confidential appointments to discuss your concerns.

Let our family fight for your family! Call (800) 599-8888 today for a free and confidential appointment to discuss your rights.

Signs of Kentucky nursing home neglect or abuse:

Adapted from information provided by the Elder Abuse Foundation.