What is elopement in a nursing home context?

One serious problem at nursing homes is elopement. This is when someone wanders away from the nursing home. In most of these cases, that person struggles with a reduced mental capacity or related issues – such as dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

As such, elopement is very dangerous. Many of these elderly individuals need around-the-clock care and assistance. They could become seriously injured if they’re out on their own.

Additionally, especially when they’re dealing with mental limitations, they may become confused or disoriented. An elderly person may try to return to the nursing home but find out that they’ve gotten lost and don’t know where to go. They may not have a phone and they don’t know who to call. This can become very problematic and the authorities may need to be contacted to search for them.

Why does the elopement happen?

From the resident’s perspective, elopement often happens because they don’t fully understand the ramifications. Maybe they want to go home and they don’t understand why they’re living in a nursing home to start with. They get confused and try to leave. 

But from the nursing home perspective, elopement often happens simply because there aren’t proper security measures in place. Ideally, residents should not be able to leave the facility without notifying the staff. In some situations, such as with memory care patients, there may even be restrictions, such as locking doors to ensure that residents can’t leave on their own.

But if the nursing home is negligent, elopement can still happen. It can have serious ramifications – sometimes injury or even death – and family members need to know what legal options they have.