Deciding to place a loved one in a nursing home is not an easy decision. With Arizona's rapidly gaining population, more families find themselves unable to care for their senior members and more senior citizens find themselves in nursing homes.

Unfortunately, not all Arizona nursing homes are run with the professionalism required to keep patients safe. Nursing home neglect and abuse is an issue in Phoenix and across the state. Some estimate that the number of abused senior citizens is close to 1 in 10, and advocates are worried that rising numbers of senior citizens could mean that elder abuse will become more common.

Approximately 13 percent of the population of the United States is over the age of 65. Advocates say that the growing numbers of possibly vulnerable and dependent adults is a brewing national problem.

"Amazing things are occurring simultaneously," said a co-director of the National Center on Elder Abuse. "The fastest-growing segment are people over 85 and the percentage of people with Alzheimer's, dementia is at an all-time high. This is just an absolute recipe for disaster."

She added that a victim of elder abuse can be anyone and that it does not matter whether that person is rich or poor, or lives in a nursing home.

Abuse that occurs in nursing homes is particularly problematic because it shows that the trust of a family was violated. Family members are rightfully angry with the negligent facility that hurt their loved ones and often feel guilty for unwittingly placing a family member at risk for harm. An elder abuse attorney can help hold a negligent nursing home accountable for any harm that its patients suffer. The funds from a negligence lawsuit can help pay for medical expenses and ensure that the facility does not continue to injure more of its patients.

Source: USA Today, "As USA grays, elder abuse risk and need for shelters grow," Haya El Nasser, Jan. 10, 2012