How prevalent is nursing home neglect?
1.6 million Americans reside in over 16,000 nursing homes across this country. A 1998 study conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) concluded that more than half of the suspicious deaths studied in nursing homes were probably due to nursing home neglect, including malnutrition and dehydration. Unreported instances of abuse must also be taken under consideration when evaluating this statistic.