Had my first elopement today

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2005

Scarey huh? Had a few residents like this. Hard to keep contained..they would figure the codes out for the doors. Not fun having to call the cops once..also reporting this to the state :uhoh21:

Morning-glory · Feb 28, 2005

One night, while I worked in a retirement home one lady walked out the front door in her nighty. This was a place for the seniors in our community who just didn't feel up to all the housework anymore. Most were alert and oriented, but some had early dementia or just forgot to take care of themselves. So this woman was usually OK, very dignified, well dressed and wouldn't leave her room unless she had her clothes on and make-up done.

Her family had asked that she be checked on during the night. She had been a bit combative with staff on evenings and was just not her normal, pleasant self. On the midnight check she was awake watching TV. At 0100 she was walking in the halls naked. She was redirected to her room and we put on her PJ's and tried to get her to get into bed. She didn't want to go to bed, so she turned on the TV and said she would rest for a while. Because of this, we were checking on her more often, but this really annoyed her. At 0200 she was no where to be found. There was only me and a CNA for 105 residents on 8 floors. So we look every where. Other residents' rooms if their doors weren't locked, all the common areas, etc...

While in the dinning room, the CNA looks out the window and sees her in the frozen and snow covered garden, looking at the plants. It's -40 below out there. She had no shoes, no housecoat. We rush out, get her back, call 911, as we didn't know how long she had been out there, but when it is that cold, 10 minutes can be fatal. We also called her son who lived 5 hours away and let him know what had been happening the day before and her little tour outside.

I had already mentioned in the doctor's book that she would need to be seen in the morning because of the changes in her mental status.

I got a call from the nurse at the hospital to clarify some information. Turns out, she had had a small stroke recently, and had big one on arrival to the hospital.

Freaked me out, but because she was at the hospital when it occured, she had a good outcome. Her odd behaviour is what saved her. Someone was looking out for her!!!

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2005

:chuckle I remember one of my high risk residents...always kept an eye on her and the door. All of our doors have alarms so the one night when she went missing we were dump founded....I was darn near in tears.....looked everywhere...getting ready to call the police..etc..made one quick and final round of our little place....She turned up... in bed with another resident. She climbed up over the side rails and laid down...her head was at the foot of the bed. Now I will look in every bed :chuckle

ktwlpn, LPN · Mar 1, 2005

There is nothing more frightening...I feel for you...I have had several "missing" residents through the years and luckily for me we found them actually still on the unit but I remember the sheer panic..I found a fella asleep in the back of another resident's closet (door shut) Found an old gal on her back in the bathtub...Often have found an extra resident in a bed...Usually they are found in places that are supposed to be secured-like supply closets or the employee rest room that someone forgot to lock....We have 2 secure units in out LTC-and a big problem with our social workers wanting to move slightly higher functioning residents to open units "Let's giver him a chance" Yeah-and when he or she sundowns or gets a UTI and takes off for the creek or the highway and the social worker is off duty who is responsible? I would just croak if a resident I was responsible for got out and was injured or worse..I'd never get over it...There is an 85 yr old lady with Alzheimer's disease driving around Philly in her white Ford Tauraus right now-been missing for a few days...I don't know who she lived with but it's another example of someone lacking good common sense (like our social workers) I hope they find the poor soul-she has no meds with her but has the sense to use her credit card to get gas....say a prayer for her

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

My first ever job in the field of nursing- a resident assistant at assisted living- one day we are with most of the residents in the dining room getting them served supper and everything, and our UPS man comes in the door with a very special delivery- one of our more "out of it" and walker-dependent residents had met him at the bottom of the hill driveway, heading out towards quite a busy street! The really bad thing is I don't think anyone had noticed she was gone. Someone who went out to help her down from the truck said she rode that truck like it was the ride of her life, with the biggest grin on her face! That one is funny now... but it was scary then!!!

imperial · Mar 1, 2005

Many facilities put up a fence around the facility due to elopements. I have, in the past, investigated several where residents died (hit by car, heart attack) after elopement. These facilities, after the fact, put a fence up. Of course, if the resident had all the apparatus' on (wrist alarm, etc) then it sounds as if the facility acted in good faith....

Chad_KY_SRNA · Mar 1, 2005

My DON called me today to ask me How long from when the alarms started going off. I was still coming back up to the unit and when I got to the doors I ran through and ran to the door he had left through. She asked me where the other CNA was, I told her that she was already headed toward the exit. She said that she just had to check and make sure that it hadn't been 10-15 minutes before we started looking. I was a little offended that she had to ask but I understand. I was outside as soon as we made sure he was gone searching the parking area and shouting his name.

CHATSDALE · Mar 1, 2005

i know what that situation is..i went to work in a ltc facility after working in a hospital...i got an education real fast...i have driven around in the middle of the night praying for patient safety and God forgive me, praying for my license

now work in a psych ltc...it is worse even if we have a fence..sometimes they will see a group of visitors exiting and join in withe them...

we had one resident..still have him but he is not in that phase now...anyway he said that Pres Bush and his wife...not laura, resdients wife [non-existant] had told him to climb over the fence and go to a certain house...scared the people to death...guess whos shift he decided to this on...

happthearts · Mar 1, 2005

The CNA I was working with sent me to get the Hoyer lift from another unit and she was going to start dressing our resident. As I am coming back up the ramp I hear the open door alarm, the wrist bracelet alarm and the door lock alarm. I throw the interior door to the unit open so the people on the other unit will hear all of this and come help. I run up and my partner is looking at the complete wrong door. We run to the correct door which leads to Physical Therapy and their outpatient entrance. We search the PT bathrooms and then a nurse and I go outside and start looking in the staff parking lot. Someone found him out behind the building walking toward town along the river bank. It was so cold he was more than willing to come back in. This same resident pysically assaulted me earlier the same shift while I was trying to redirect him back to the unit. I hugged the CNA who found him. I have been in LTC for over two years and have never had one get that far gone. Sheesh! Thank God that I am home now and can forget about work for now.

You at-least found him.Just think If he had got to the river.That was good work.

This happen to me also about 15 years ago.

Boy You were lucky. The staff on 3-11 was suspose to make sure they got this female PT put to bed first as she was a wander risk Big time .

We had a rule at our hospitial before we took shift we check all the Pt's. Well this Pt was missing .The aide said I couldn't find her, when time for bed. We looked everywhere literaly,as she had gotten down the street before and it was getting cold .So we were really worried Finally after 2 hrs seaching They found her in the PT dept dead in the pool water. At least you saved yours.

Did you hear about the one in Califorina where the guy climb tree then went over fence ,in his PJ and he broke his neck .The Hospitial didn't miss him till the next morning He was froze and dead. Very famous case.

So so sad .

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Mar 1, 2005

When the facility I work in first opened, they had a 30 something man hop the fence and wound up in a town 60 miles away. Fortunately he was okay.

I have had many arguments, usually with kitchen staff about the darn doors. If the lock clicks while it's still open (like while moving a hot box through it,) you have to reset the code, or the door isn't locked. Had a sweet little lady follow them back to the kitchen one time, and she just about knocked a cook's block off when he tried to bring her back.