Elopement Programs and Products
May 05, 2014 | The Rooth Law Firm Nursing Home Abuse
When nursing home residents leave their nursing home facilities, it can be very scary for the family members of the eloped resident. While some elopements are deliberate acts done by fully cognizant residents, most often residents who elope have cognitive impairments, such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. It is estimated by the Alzheimer’s Association that 60% of those elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease will wander and become lost and of those, 46% will not be found alive. That is why it makes sense to utilize some sort of elopement prevention program and/or products to help keep track of and to prevent those nursing home residents who are at risk of eloping from their nursing facility from wandering off and becoming lost.
The EmFinders Elopement Risk Program
EmFinders is a senior care technology provider that specializes in producing products and services for locating lost or missing seniors. EmFinders offers to nursing homes an Elopement Risk Program, which is designed for easy implementation at the nursing home. The program is called EmSeeQ Solution, which includes a series of assessments as well as the use of a monitoring device and monthly monitoring services, and a protocol for what to do if a resident who is part of the program goes missing. EmFinders provides support to nursing home staff and police while the missing resident is located. Depending on the nursing home facility, this program is either paid for by the facility or is passed on to the resident.
Commercially Available Wandering Prevention Products
- Secure Care Products, LLC, offers a variety of Door GUARDIAN™ Wandering Alert System solutions, which involve the use of specially made doors that utilize radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The special doors are equipped with RFID readers and the nursing home staff and residents are equipped with RFID transmitters. Different transmitters are programmed uniquely, thereby giving access to certain doors to nursing staff, but not residents.
- Home Technology Systems offers an RFID technology door alarm product as well for preventing those senior residents without the proper credentials to access certain doors. The Avertech RFID Monitoring and Wandering system is a door alarm containing an RFID receiver and residents and staffers wear transmitters in a functional wristwatch.
- Tech Electronics offers a myriad of security systems for use in nursing home facilities. Video surveillance and CCTV systems, access control systems, intrusion detection and elopement notifications are just a few of the many types of products available. In particular, the elopement systems are perimeter-based security measures that detect when someone breaches the perimeter. Such a system coupled with a door access security system, such as doors that lead to restricted areas requiring key card access to open, can greatly reduce the number of instances of resident elopement.
Contact an Elopement Attorney
If your loved one is a nursing home resident with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia and has wandered from the facility, it is likely that a nursing home staff member is responsible for neglecting your loved one. There are many things that nursing homes and staff can do to prevent elopement and wandering from happening. Please contact The Rooth Law Firm today online or at (847) 869-9100.
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