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Nursing home residents shouldn’t be able to leave in secret

On Behalf of | Jan 20, 2025 | Nursing Home

Older adults who resent a decision to move them into nursing homes can sometimes be somewhat hyperbolic. They may describe their situation as though they are prisoners. It is common for older adults living in nursing homes to express their frustration about the loss of freedom that follows the transition to nursing home living.

They have to eat when the facility tells them to eat and can’t leave without staff members or family accompanying them in many cases. Those limitations may feel frustrating, but most of them are in place for their safety. Keeping residents safely inside of nursing homes is crucial to their overall well-being. When nursing homes fail to prevent residents from leaving without permission, which people call eloping, a resident who leaves could suffer a variety of negative consequences.

Why elopement is a real concern

Nursing home elopement doesn’t just divert staff attention from the daily care needs of others to locate a missing resident. It also leaves the vulnerable older adult who exits the facility in a precarious position.

People who leave a nursing home without prior planning may not have proper shoes or clothing. They likely do not have medication that they rely on for their health. They may not have any place to go either. They may then end up wandering unattended in dangerous locations. Solitary older adults are vulnerable to criminal activity. They are at risk of illness or worse due to exposure while they are outside. They could also end up injured if they slide down a hill or wander into traffic.

How nursing homes prevent elopement

Wandering or elopement is largely preventable with appropriate security practices and resident screening. Nursing homes typically need to evaluate individual residents to establish their care needs. From there, they need to implement a plan to help meet those needs.

When a resident struggles with memory issues, they may need to be placed in a locked ward where they cannot leave without the knowledge and assistance of staff members. The failure to identify residents as at risk of elopement or to follow proper procedures in a memory ward might result in someone leaving the facility and ending up injured. Elopement is frequently a sign of neglect at a nursing home.

Families dealing with the aftermath of elopement and other incidents related to nursing home neglect may have grounds for a nursing home negligence lawsuit. Seeking compensation can help cover expenses related to the incident and may motivate a negligent nursing home to change its practices to better support vulnerable people.

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