Nursing home lawyer, Jonathan Rosenfeld, was recently interviewed for an article on preventing patient wandering.  The article 'Prevent Wandering Patient Tragedies' appeared in the on-line edition of Healthcare Technologies Online, can be viewed here.

Wandering Nursing Home Patients

Many nursing home patients with dementia and Alzheimer's are prone to wander from the facility. Once out of the safety of the nursing home, these vulnerable people are particularly susceptible to injury.  

Simple preventative measures implemented by a facility could literally be the difference between life and death for nursing home patients. There is no excuse for a nursing home's failure to keep residents who are prone to wandering from leaving the premises of the facility.

Nursing homes that care for patients who are prone to wander or elope should have the following safeguards in place:

• Door alarms
• Window locks
• Door locks
• Bracelets that track each resident's location
• Hire adequate staff to look after residents
• Have contingent plan in case a resident does wander from the facility

Related:

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