Police were called to a Michigan assisted living facility after a snowplow driver clearing the parking lot saw an 82-year-old woman curled up on the north end of the parking lot. The woman was a resident of the facility and staff were notified and carried the woman inside. Police and fire department personnel attempted to treat her for extreme cold exposure. She was taken to the hospital where she died.
In Ohio, police found the body of a 92-year-old nursing home resident who was reported missing on Christmas Eve. Officers had begun searching for the woman after they responded to a welfare check on the grounds of the facility. The door to her room was open and the lights were on, but she wasn’t inside, police said.
The police searched throughout the night on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day until they found her body in an area outside the nursing home. Police said they believe she went outside late at night or in the early morning and became disoriented in the hazardous weather conditions. Investigators said they believe she died due to the extremely cold temperatures.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Facilities are responsible for identifying and assessing a resident’s risk for leaving the facility without notification to staff and developing interventions to address this risk. A situation in which a resident with decision-making capacity leaves the facility intentionally would generally not be considered an elopement unless the facility is unaware of the resident’s departure and/or whereabouts. Facilities should have policies that clearly define the mechanisms and procedures for assessing or identifying, monitoring, and managing residents at risk for elopement. This can help to minimize the risk of a resident leaving a safe area without the facility’s awareness and/or appropriate supervision. Early assessment is key. All residents should be assessed on admission and at least quarterly thereafter. An additional risk assessment should be performed after there is any change in a resident’s condition. The resident at risk should have interventions in his or her comprehensive plan of care to address the potential for elopement. Staff need to be able to show documentation that the policies were implemented. Furthermore, a facility’s disaster and emergency preparedness plan should include a plan to locate a missing resident.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures regarding prevention of and response to resident elopement to determine if any changes should be implemented. Also review policies and procedures for ensuring provision of adequate monitoring, sufficient staffing, and that there is adequate security to prevent residents from wandering away from the facility.
- Train staff regarding the importance of providing adequate monitoring and care for the residents. Conduct elopement drills to ensure staff on all shifts know how to competently respond.
- Periodically audit to ensure that residents’ elopement risk assessments are completed at the time of admission and updated periodically and as needed. Also audit to ensure that staff are performing assigned checks of residents.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
