Testimony on 2000-090 CI - Homes for the Aged
(Consumer and Industry Services Bureau of Family Services)
November 3, 2003
Good morning, my name is Kathy Rozema. I am a registered nurse,
a member of the Michigan Nurses' Association, a graduate nursing
student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program at the University
of Michigan, and a John A. Hartford scholar at U of M. I am here
today to speak in opposition to the proposed rules regarding the
Homes for the Aged.
Assisted living facilities are becoming increasingly popular among
the elderly and their families. These facilities can be more attractive
options instead of nursing home placement for those elders who are
unsafe living in their homes due to dementia. However, according
to a study conducted by Rowe and Glover (2001), 3 out of 5 dementia
patients will wander at least once, and of those who are missing
for more than 24 hours, one out of every two people may die due
to exposure, injury, or other trauma. Facilities who accept patients
with dementia must have safety precautions and protocols in place
to prevent unnecessary injury and death due to wandering behavior.
Just this past March, an elderly woman with dementia died from exposure
after eloping from a facility in Livonia. How many people have to
die before something is changed?
I propose a modification to "Part 3. Administrative Management
of Homes, R325.1924 Reporting of incidents, accidents, and elopement,
(4) elopement" to read:
(4) When an elopement occurs, the home shall make a reasonable attempt
to locate the resident and contact the resident's authorized representative,
if any.
(a) A "reasonable attempt" to locate a resident is defined
as follows. When an alarmed door sounds or an elopement occurs,
the home shall first account for all residents to determine which
resident may be missing. With one staff person remaining in the
home at all times, all other available staff must search the grounds
and surrounding area for the resident.
(b) If the resident is not located within 30 minutes, the home shall
immediately contact the local police authority and notify the Department
within 24 hours of the elopement.
The above changes would address a need for a standing protocol
in assisted living facilities for locating missing residents. By
implementing these changes, residents would less likely be harmed
if an elopement occurs and death rates as a result of elopement
would statistically be reduced.
References
Kurth, J. (2003, March 4). Woman dies in cold, 15 feet from nursing
home; Livonia police quickly find body, but she was missing two
hours before they were called. The Detroit News, p. A1.
Rowe, M.A. & Glover, J.C. (2001). Antecedents, descriptions,
and consequences of wandering in cognitively-impaired adults and
the Safe Return program. American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
& Other Dementias, 16(6), 344-352.
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