I just read an article about a nursing home patient in New York who wandered out of the home unnoticed. Two days later she was found in the woods – dead. You may think this is unusual but I can tell you that is not the case.
I have handled this type of case in Maryland. In my experience, the problem results from a failure of the facility to have enough staff on duty to properly care for the residents. Patients who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s frequently wander. If a facility accepts these patients then there must be enough staff to watch them as well as other safeguards, such as alarms, to alert the staff if a patient leaves the unit or walks out the front door.
