How to keep seniors from getting lost

Lucette Moramarco

Associate Editor

Between the beginning of November and the end of December 2021, at least six senior residents of North County were reported missing after they left home. Most were found within hours, but one is still missing. For other families who may be worried about their loved ones with dementia or other health issues wandering away from home, there are ways to keep them from leaving, and to find them if they do get lost.

Alzheimer's San Diego offers tips to help prevent people with dementia from getting confused and wandering off. Those suggestions include increasing their physical activity during the day, which "may reduce the tendency to get up and walk around during the night (when wandering often happens)...Identify potential causes for wandering: It could be simple causes such as boredom, discomfort, hunger or need to use the bathroom."

Another tip from ASD is "Increase home safety measures: Consider "safe-proofing" the home, such as installing motion sensor alarms or a chime that signals open doors, motion-detecting lights, locks on doors/windows that can't be opened easily, night lights, etc." For more tips, visit https://www.alzsd.org/resources/resource-library/.

Foundation for Senior Care Executive Director Patty Sargent said they "make sure we are staffed" for clients in their adult daycare who have dementia, to give them extra attention. They also just had new door alarms installed, she said, in addition to the gate alarms at The Club. Doorbell alarms can be added to internal doors with three responders, each placed in a different room, Sargent explained. She added that they are also good for families with children.

According to Sargent, the foundation's daycare administrator and senior advocates highly recommend families register with Take Me Home, a Sheriff's department program.

Take Me Home is a registry that gives law enforcement quick access to important information about registered people with disabilities or people who are at high risk of wandering, in the event that they go missing.

Families can upload information about their loved one including a recent photo, to be stored in that database. If the loved one does get lost, that information is readily accessed by law enforcement to aid in their search. It is also helpful when someone finds a person who is wandering as the database will help authorities match the found person with their picture so they can take them home.

Fallbrook Sheriff Substation Crime Prevention Specialist Heather Mitchell advises families to upload their loved one's information to the Take Me Home Registry, http://www.sdsheriff.net/tmh, themselves as the photo should be updated over time. She recommends they do it online and has gone to the homes of families that need help doing that.

According to the sheriff's department, any member of the community who needs special assistance if they are alone or in times of emergency is eligible for Take Me Home. That also includes people who are unable to speak or properly identify themselves, or may become disoriented, as well as people with autism, Down syndrome, or cognitive disabilities.

If someone with memory loss leaves a safe place or becomes lost, their caregiver should contact 911 immediately. Alzheimer's San Diego advises that "a missing person with dementia is considered to be 'at risk' and should receive law enforcement response right away; there is no need to wait 24 hours as in other situations with a missing person."

If a loved one does go missing and the sheriff's department is called, the caller should explain the missing person's medical condition or special needs and let the dispatcher know if the person is enrolled in Take Me Home. The program brochure says, "It is helpful to know their medication needs, the most likely places they'll go, if they can't communicate, respond by a certain name, are afraid of noises, loud sounds or being touched. This helps tailor our search and rescue response so the person will not run away, hide or become frightened when approached by a deputy or Search and Rescue Volunteer."

GPS trackers are another useful tool in finding lost seniors. There are a variety of ways to use these tracking devices, in watches, necklaces, bracelets, cell phones, tags attached to keychains or clothing and even insoles to put inside shoes, most at a reasonable cost. There are also the medical alert services advertised on television that connect the wearer to a live person, a service which will cost more but help keep a senior safe.

For more information on the various GPS options, visit https://www.seniorlink.com/blog, see the list under "Wandering" on the Alzheimer's San Diego website (link above), or do a search online for even more choices.

Alzheimer's San Diego will be having a live webinar, "Safety at Home," Wednesday, March 16 from 10-11:30 a.m. which will include "important home safety tips to keep people living with memory loss safe and well at home. Reduce the risk of wandering, falls, household injuries, medication errors, and more. This class is open to everyone, and pre-registration is required." Register at https://www.alzsd.org/event/safety-at-home-3/.

Since many local families do not have computers or are not knowledgeable about online services, Mitchell is going to work with the Foundation for Senior Care on a workshop to help them register their loved ones for Take Me Home. When that class has been arranged, information will be published in the Village News. Mitchell can be reached at 760-451-3124 (office) or 619-576-1930 (cell); the Foundation for Senior Care staff can be reached at 760-723-7570.