Nursing homes are rated, much like restaurants and hotels. The more stars a place gets, the better it supposedly is. Picking where to eat is a far cry from choosing where a loved one may spend the rest of his or her life.
Barbara Becker's nightmare began in 1999- when her mother in-law, Helen Straukamp, became a homicide victim while living in a nursing home.
"He grabbed her by her folded arms lifted her off the floor and slammed her into a wall and a hand-rail and she fell to the floor unconscious," Becker said.
After that Barbara began taking a closer look at nursing homes, what she found was startling.
 "Taxpayers are basically funding poor care- abuse, starvation, dehydration, pressure sores- then above that the criminal things sexual abuse has become a huge problem."
The Department of Health and Human Services ranks homes based on state inspection records- between 1 and 5 stars. Within 50 miles there are 10 one-star homes and 3 five-star facilities Those rankings are available online . But experts say that system is flawed. They say some categories are self-regulated by the nursing homes.
Michelle Motta is an ombudsman- it is her job to help protect nursing home residents. As the executive director of VOICES, she investigates nursing home complaints and helps families choose homes. 
Motta says the rating system is a good place to begin your search. But it shouldn't end there.
"Look at how the residents are being treated are they being treated as a job or are they being treated as human being," Motta said.
According to a report by the GAO, Indiana is one of 12 states with the fewest 5 star nursing homes.