Recently, here in Denver a male resident with a diagnosis of dementia had wandered away form a facility he was living in. This is called elopement. Elopement is when a dependent resident of a Long term care facility, hospital, or assisted living facility leaves the facility without the staff or family being aware of the departure.
Back in January of this year, also in Denver. A grandmother with Alzheimer's Disease was left along with a 2 year old for her to care for. She took off with the toddler around 2 pm. She was found with the toddler later that day around 7 pm in a field near the family's home.
Last month, 2 kids with autism wandered away from home. The child in Florida made national news. The lost child in Boston, did not. Wandering and elopement both can be prevented! What is the difference between the two?
Wandering away is when a dependent person is not in a licensed care facility and leaves the residence without family knowing their where abouts. Elopement is a serious problem that each state has standards and guidelines for facilities to follow to prevent elopement. Facilities will be fined a hefty amount if the elopement leads to serious injuries or death.
So how do you prevent wandering away or elopement? At home- if you have a child with a disorder that would cause him or her to get lost or wander away from home. Always keep some form of identification on the child. ADT has a prevention program as well. Last, never leave your special needs child alone in the home. We make it a rule at our home that someone will always be home with our son.
Adult children and spouses of loved ones with some form of dementia do the same. Never leave your parent or spouse alone while you are at work, go shopping or for any reason. Hire some one to sit with your mom, dad, or spouse. Ask a friend or reliable relative to help. As your church if someone from the youth group or mission circle can volunteer to sit for a short period. Is there an adult day care center near by? Taking effective actions to prevent wandering will prevent problems in the future.
What if your loved one is in a facility? Ask administration what is their policy/procedure for elopment issues? Many nursing home administrators think they don't need one. More than 10% of all law suits involving ltc/alf deal with elopment issues.
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