In 1887, investigative journalist Nellie Bly decided to feign insanity to explore insane asylum Blackwell's Island from the inside.
For 10 days, Bly (1864-1922) witnessed poor women taking ice cold baths, eating moldy food, forced to sit for hours on hard benches and gossiped about and cursed at by nursing staff.
Bly's subsequent publication for the New York World was inhaled by the public, who demanded a grand jury investigation.
A grand jury convened and explored Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island) which cleaned up its act with an updated kitchen, menu, hygiene and transferred patients to other facilities.
The public fervor continued however, and more than $20 million in today's currency was allotted to asylums like Blackwell's by New York State.
Unfortunately, public concern has waned since 1800s America, and we see violence and death in nursing homes today, without grand jury investigations or legislative changes.