Question:  I’m so worried about my mother. She lives in a nursing home. All of the media coverage about actor Mickey Rooney’s experience as a victim of adult abuse has made me realize that anyone, even my mother, could be abused.  

Answer: My 12 year experience as a long term care ombudsman has allowed me to meet and share experiences with many nursing home residents who received kind, compassionate, and competent care. Sadly, I’ve also met and worked with too many residents who have been abused and neglected. Abuse happens both in our communities and in long term care facilities. Abuse happens regardless of age, economic status, or fame. The majority of abuse victims are people who are not living in nursing homes. They are your neighbors, relatives, and friends who may be living at home alone, living with relatives, or living with a caregiver.

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Question:   Okay, I’ll assume that my mother is going to get good care. But what if something happens, something that makes me think she’s been abused?

Answer: Kentucky law says that “any person... having reasonable cause to suspect that an adult has suffered abuse, neglect or exploitation, shall report or cause reports to be made.” Reports can be made by calling the state abuse hotline at 1-800-752-6200. Don’t worry about reporting something that someone else may have already reported. Multiple reports may help a victim get the help he or she needs. You can also talk to an ombudsman at 1-877-787-0077 if you have concerns and are unsure.

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Question:   What really are abuse, neglect, and exploitation?

Answer: “Abuse” means the infliction of injury, sexual abuse, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment that results in physical pain or injury, including mental injury.  "Neglect" means a

situation in which an adult is unable to perform or obtain for himself or herself the goods or services that are necessary to maintain his or her health or welfare, or the deprivation of services by a caretaker that are necessary to maintain the health and welfare of an adult. “Exploitation" means obtaining or using another person's resources, including but not limited to funds, assets, or property, by deception, intimidation, or similar means, with the intent to deprive the person of those resources. Again, as in the case of Mickey Rooney, financial exploitation may be a complaint against the family members of a resident. Often the investigation of the alleged exploitation leads to changes in the way a family handles the resident’s money.

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Question:  Do people really report abuse? Aren’t they afraid of what might happen?

Answer: Abuse, neglect, and exploitation are crimes. Our failure to report keeps the system from working. In a letter to his fans, Mickey Rooney said, "All I want to do is live a peaceful life, to regain my life and be happy. I pray to God each day to protect us, help us endure and guide those other senior citizens who are also suffering." This is a valuable call to action for anyone who is suspicious of abuse or neglect. It is important that we as a community do not let residents and our neighbors suffer a second abuse because we fail to act. If you suspect abuse,
you need to report it as you would any crime. When abusers go undetected and unpunished, the victim truly suffers twice.

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This Column is presented as a public service of this newspaper and the Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass. If you have a question, send it to Sherry Culp, NHOA, 1530 Nicholasville Rd., Lexington, KY, 40503.

©2009 Nursing Home Ombudsman Agency of the Bluegrass, Inc.