Senior Wander Management System Benefits
Wandering prevention systems have been used in senior living communities and hospitals for more than twenty years. They are often adopted in facilities that accommodate dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. These systems help reduce the risk of patients leaving the facility unchaperoned, getting lost, and being exposed to dangerous situations.
As a facility manager, the last thing you want is for one of your patients to go wandering off. This is something that almost always makes the news when it happens, giving the facility involved a really bad name, especially when the resident is injured or dies due to the circumstances. Wandering accounts for approximately ten percent of lawsuits against senior care facilities.
Those that die after leaving the facility often succumb to heat or cold exposure, drowning, or traffic-related injuries. The good news is that unwelcome events like this can be avoided and are preventable with the right software system in place. Approximately ten percent of senior residents have the prerequisite behavioral condition to wander off. This statistic is often higher in nursing homes.
You can invest in two types of systems to advise you when a patient or resident is leaving without permission. The first is a perimeter alarm. This alarm is triggered by a door contact switch, alerting staff that an unauthorized person is opening the door. This ensures the doors are not usable for vulnerable patients and residents, with staff having access codes to ensure the alarm isn't triggered unnecessarily.
The second and more common wander management systems are those that use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). These involve a controller with antennae that are linked at a door. Residents are equipped with ankle or wrist bracelets that trigger a notification alarm to staff when the resident passes through a door that they are not permitted to pass through without supervision. This only makes passing through the door difficult for those wearing the bracelet, enabling visitors, other patients, residents, and staff to pass with ease.
These are valuable tools for any healthcare facility involving patients that are high-risk wanderers. These systems increase safety. Staff is trained on the procedures to follow once an alarm is sounded and what they must do to ensure the safety of their patients and residents in the event of wandering.
Senior living facilities exist to provide care and a safe living environment for their residents, whether they have mobility or mental issues. One of the biggest obstacles facing managers of these facilities is wandering, a very common behavior with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. The patients are not sure where they are, wandering off and finding themselves disorientated, lost, and even injured.
Wander management technology allows facilities to provide an additional level of security and safety for their residents. One of the top benefits you will find when incorporating a system like this is that it helps to put residents and their loved ones at ease. This in turn can increase the chances of high marks and success for the facility in the future.
These systems help to improve staff response times, alerting them to a problem in real-time to reduce the risk of accident or injury, helping them complete their duties more effectively.
Ensure you do your research before you make any final decisions on the right wander management system for your facility. Research the supplier and the systems they have in place. Identify if they provide customization service, tailoring the software based on your facility needs. Always make use of reviews, you can find them on independent review sites and many online forums before comparing the suppliers to find the senior wander management solution that will provide you with all the benefits your residents, staff, and visitors need.
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