Elopement!

You just have to laugh...

From Liz:

I received a phone call from Barbara (Wellness Ctr) to tell me that, this afternoon, Mom decided she needed some cough drops (a particular type) and would walk over to CVS to buy some.  She dressed warmly, took her walker, and left Oakbridge on foot - didn't sign out or tell anyone where she was going.  She was going to walk a block up Rte 352, down Rte 452 about 2 blocks, and cross Baltimore Pike to the CVS, a total of about 0.8 miles. (Then back again, of course.)  The guard at the gate saw her, but apparently remembered her walking out to 352 in the past, to be picked up for a ride, so he didn't make much of it this time.  Barbara said the walker should've been a red flag.  Anyway, some incoming employees noticed her walking up the street and mentioned it to the guard.  Then it gets a little confused - I think the employees tried to pick her up but she refused to come with them.  The guard then sprinted off down 352 to intercept her.  A passing stranger offered to drive them back to Lima - but Mom refused again and insisted she had to go to CVS.  Eventually they persuaded her, but only by promising to take her to CVS first.  By the time they persuaded her, she had reached the library on 452, about 0.6 miles from Oakbridge Terrace.  So this stranger drove her and the guard (and maybe a nurse's aide - this part is unclear) to the CVS, the guard went with her to look for the cough drops (which the CVS didn't have!), then the stranger drove them back to Lima.  Keep in mind here that there are still banks of plowed snow at the roadsides, and probably no sidewalks (that I remember, anyway - you can bet I'm going to look Tues.).

LeeAnn called me a while ago to say that this is referred to as an "elopement."  (Don't tell Dad; he'll think she's seeing another man!)  Lima has to report the incident to Dr. Wertheimer and the Dept. of Public Welfare (which oversees assisted living facilities).  They must take some steps immediately to show they are ensuring her safety.  The first step is to see if there is any physical problem, like illness, that would contribute.  They will do a urinalysis to test for any infection that might be brewing - remember LeeAnn told us that, in the elderly, infection can have immediate cognitive effects, even before any fever shows.  Also, they will put an alarm sensor floor mat outside her door after she goes to bed at night.  (LeeAnn said Mom will not like this - I'm sure that's true, if she ever finds out!  Maybe they'll remove it before she arises.)  There is only one nurse's aide on duty all night, and she covers both floors, so this will alert her if Mom leaves her room in the middle of the night.  LeeAnn asked that we let her know if we have any additional ideas for safety measures.  The regulations of an assisted living facility permit the residents to sign themselves out of the facility and leave the premises on their own say-so.  I gather that this is part of what defines an assisted living facility, so if you need different rules then you don't belong there.  They hope that explaining to Mom why this was an unsafe action and poor judgement will make this a one-time event.  Mom apparently said to them that she had no idea it would cause such a fuss.  Until now, Mom has consistently signed herself out, so we don't know why this time she slipped up.  Frankly, I'm not sure it matters if she signed out or not if no one asks her where she is going.  She could have signed out and then gone off to CVS anyway.  LeeAnn was also concerned that it took so much effort to persuade Mom to stop walking and get in the car - she was going to CVS, and that's all there was to that.  Mom has an appointment with the neuro-psychologist this week for a 3-hour evaluation - I don't think they'll look at this as a good sign.