Why Do Wandering Management Systems in Nursing Homes Fail?

Most senior living facilities have wandering management systems to help ensure the safety of residents afflicted with Dementia or Alzheimer's symptoms. Symptoms that may lead to wandering and Elopement.

The leading causes of death or injury in these situations are:

Exposure to heat or cold
Drowning
Traffic related injuries

Problems that occur and lead to deaths are:

Staff
In my opinion, the most important part of any wander management program is the staff. Different facilities shape their staff's response to an alarm differently. Some facilities only rely on some of their personnel to respond to alarms, while others take an all hands on deck approach. In either case, the responders must be engaged and vigilant. Staff engagement begins with assessments, is maintained with vigilance and ends with responsiveness. Problems occur when this breaks down. These systems can be affected by radio or electrical interference. In extreme cases staff have been known to turn off the system because it annoys them. I have heard of cases where an employee unplugs the system from an outlet to plug in a vacuum cleaner and forgets to plug it back in.

Ask the facility some basic questions. How often do they run drills? How often and how in depth does the facility test the door systems, transmitters and staff? How old is the system?

Then find out about these elements of the system,

Coverage Area
Sometimes facilities simply do not cover all exits at risk. Why? Maybe the facility has never had an elopement, except for that one time. Maybe it's a financial concern. It could be they think the wanderers always go out the front door. In my experience wanderers have a lot of time on their hands, they spend most of it trying to get out unless they have activities to do. If they have that one moment of clarity while they are trying to get out, they will. They may think that a resident would not think to go out the kitchen, storage, chapel or laundry door. Inevitably over time, these are the doors the residents elope from.

System Age
It is a fact some nursing homes still have some doors covered with wander systems from the early nineties. These systems may function but the newer systems work so much better. The newer system have anti-tailgating features, better antennas, more elaborate bypasses. Older systems usually have a two button bypass that have the bypass code keys worn off or are simple enough that the wanderers watch staff or visitors and learn the code. Keep in mind a recently renovated building doesn't mean an updated wandering system. They can be moved from door to door.

Design and Functionality
Is the facility using a system they implemented ten years ago? If the system was put in ten years ago does the design still relate to their staffing levels or foot traffic flow. Do they give bypass codes to visitors or delivery drivers.

These are just a few of the top concerns you may want to investigate when putting your at-risk family member in a home. Not all wandering prevention systems or plans are created equal.