Glendale Resident With Dementia Wanders From Group Home

Published on May 14, 2016

A 62-year-old man with dementia wandered from his group home in Glendale on Friday afternoon. Glendale police enlisted the help of the public and after a few hours were able to find him safe. But not all instances of this happening have a happy ending. A simple search online will show instances of patients with dementia who wandered from a group home and died because of it. For families with a loved one with dementia, it’s a scary reality.

The National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (NCCDP) writes that wandering is most often associated with Alzheimer’s dementia, usually occurring two to four years after the onset of the disease. They also share that statistics indicate that more than 34,000 Alzheimer patients wander out of their homes or care facilities each year in the U.S. Studies vary on the prevalence of wandering in institutionalized dementia patients, but is estimated that between 11- and 24-percent wander.

If your loved one has dementia, this is something to consider when looking for a group home or nursing home for him/her. You’ll want to make sure proper measures are in place to prevent wandering from happening. This may include:

-An alarm system. Many homes implement alarm systems to make a sound or trigger an alarm each time a door is opened to notify staff.

-Locks on doors. This is a simple, inexpensive way for group homes or nursing homes to protect their residents from wandering.

-Electronic tagging. If your loved one is known to wander, this may be a good option for you. Your loved one would wear a bracelet or lightweight device on a buckle, watch or sewn into clothing. This could act as a GPS in case he/she wanders.

-Video monitoring near doors. By having video cameras near doors outside and inside the home, it has helped track how a resident got out and what direction he/she was headed.

-Proper staffing. Understaffing in group homes and nursing homes has been known to lead to many serious injuries and even death. Without enough eyes on the residents, problems can happen. So what’s a good caregiver to patient ratio? Many care websites suggest 1:5 to 1:7 for Alzheimer’s patients. When deciding between homes, ask this question when gathering all other pertinent info like price. This should be a big deciding factor in choosing a home for a loved one with dementia.

The Phoenix elder abuse lawyers at Knapp & Roberts have spent 25 years helping dementia patients who fell victim to negligence or abuse resulting in serious injury or even death. Our job is to hold the caregiver(s) or home responsible to ensure the same negligence or abuse does not happen again to someone else.

If your loved one suffered serious injury or wrongful death while in the care of a group home, nursing home, dementia care unit, or assisted living facility, call our expert injury attorneys in Phoenix, Arizona today. There is no cost involved in talking with us. In fact, there’s no charge at all, unless we succeed in obtaining a settlement or verdict in your favor. Call us at 480-991-7677 today to arrange to tell us your story.