To most people, nursing home negligence involves things like forgetting to give patients meals or medication on schedule or not regularly turning them in bed to prevent bed sores. However, nursing home negligence can also involve not securing the facility so residents can’t leave on their own. In nursing home parlance, that’s “elopement.”
The National Institute for Elopement Prevention and Resolution (NIEPR), defines elopement as “when a patient or resident who is cognitively, physically, mentally, emotionally, and/or chemically impaired wanders away, walks away, runs away, escapes, or otherwise leaves a care-giving facility or environment unsupervised, unnoticed, and/or prior to their scheduled discharge.” Note that elopement is not the same as “wandering,” which involves remaining in the facility. It’s considered less “purposeful” than elopement. It can still result in serious harm.
Elopement is most likely to happen when a resident is suffering from dementia. However, even seniors without dementia can become cognitively impaired due to a change in medication, a concussion or an illness. Others may intentionally try to leave. Elopement is especially common in the first few days in a facility.
Elopement can present all kinds of dangers. A person could get out onto the road and be struck by a vehicle, become the victim of an attack, wander into a body of water or succumb to the elements.
Care facilities can prevent elopement
Nursing homes and other care facilities have a duty to keep their residents as safe as possible. That means having safeguards in place like surveillance cameras in common areas, requiring codes to access doors to the outside and having alarmed doors where necessary. They also need procedures for staff to follow if a resident can’t be located or is known to have left the grounds.
These are important things to check on when deciding on a care facility for a loved one. Even if they aren’t cognitively impaired, that can change at any time.
If a loved one has suffered harm or worse because they were able to elope from a care facility, it’s crucial to get legal guidance as soon as possible to determine how best to seek justice and compensation.