Kentucky Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Statistics You Should Know About

Kentucky has a law requiring everyone in the state to report any cases of elder abuse, neglect, or exploitation. This law helps the state to be aware of issues of elder abuse and to take the appropriate steps to investigate and protect the elderly.

To give you a clearer picture of the problem, let’s take a look at some of the relevant statistics from last. year:

Sources of the Statistics Related to Abuse and Neglect

Kentucky’s APS department looks into all reported occurrences of mistreatment, disregard, and exploitation of adults over 18. Surprisingly, more complaints were made about adults between 18 and 59 than those over 60 – there were 40,563 calls concerning the former, while only 23,766 concerning the latter.

It is crucial to remember that not only elderly people but younger individuals residing in care facilities such as nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and mental health facilities can be victims of mistreatment, neglect, and exploitation.

Even though the commonwealth received nearly 24,000 reports of senior abuse, neglect, and exploitation, it is estimated that only a tiny fraction of the total number of cases are reported. This is likely because many of these cases occur in a home setting, with the perpetrators often being family members or home healthcare workers who can carry out the abuse in secret.

Types of Nursing Home Abuse in Kentucky

Nursing home abuse, unfortunately, is a growing problem in the United States, and Kentucky is no exception. Nursing home abuse is defined as any intentional act or failure to act by one’s caregiver or another person that causes harm, injury, or significant emotional distress to a resident of a nursing home. In Kentucky, there are several types of nursing home abuse that can occur:

Caretaker Neglect

APS looked into a high number of cases that involved a caregiver not providing proper care or attention to an elderly person. In the majority of cases, APS was contacted because of caretaker neglect.

APS’ definition of neglect is a deprivation of services needed to maintain the person’s health and welfare. Some examples of neglect include:

•  Failing to provide adequate food, clothing, and shelter
• Failing to provide necessary medical or mental health care
• Failing to protect a person from harm or danger
• Abandoning a person who is unable to care for themselves

Abuse

APS has determined that approximately one-third of the cases they investigated included some form of mistreatment. This mistreatment can include physical, emotional, sexual, financial, and neglectful behaviors.

Exploitation

Almost 1 out of 5 calls that APS looked into involved someone taking advantage of an elderly person financially. This could include taking their money, possessions, or other resources without their permission or using deception or threats.

APS took action in 157 cases out of the reported ones. Even though fewer reports of financial exploitation were made, a larger percentage of them were looked into by APS. This could be because it is easier to track evidence of financial exploitation than other types of abuse, allowing APS to investigate the reports more thoroughly.

Abuse Occurring In Long-Term Care Facilities

APS dealt with 417 different cases, and out of those, 113 of those cases were related to a long-term care facility such as a nursing home, assisted living facility, memory care home, or other residential facilities. This means that almost a third of the cases that APS took action on were related to these types of facilities.

Conclusion

No matter the setting, it is imperative to be aware of all the signs of elder abuse and neglect. No one is immune to it, so it is critical to pay attention to any changes in the behavior or health of the elderly person and take appropriate action if any signs of abuse or neglect arise.

Elder abuse is not easy to prove. It often requires a lot of evidence to be able to make a successful case. In places where elderly people are living, such as in residential facilities, the staff and owners may try to hide any abuse or neglect that might be happening. It’s crucial to have an experienced Kentucky nursing home abuse lawyer on your side as they are more familiar with such cases.

If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of nursing home abuse, report it immediately to Kentucky’s Adult Protective Services. You should also contact Circeo Law Firm’s trusted attorney for nursing home abuse to help you with your case. Schedule an appointment today!