Elopement in the context of senior services addresses seniors with dementia or memory loss who leave a setting and cannot remember how or where to return to. This does not only happen to seniors who are living in facilities. It happens to people who live in homes with or without supervision. Often the senior with memory loss will become more confused in the afternoon and evening. This condition is called sundowning. Due to the changes in the brain is dementia, seniors may get their days and nights confused. When either of this things happen, the senior can walk away from their home and not remember how to return to their home. This is always of concern due to the fact the senior does not have the capacity to know how to protect themselves. They can get struck by automobiles, fall and be unable to get up or not be able to identify other safety issues. This is of special concern with hot or cold weather when the senior can get hypothermia from the cold or hyperthermia from the heat. The temperature regulation function of the body does not function as effectively and external temperature extremes are more difficult for the senior to tolerate routinely. When exposed to these temperature extremes the senior with dementia cannot protect themselves by seeking shelter or fluids.
If you have a senior who has left the house and the police have been called to find them, it is time to make a change for the safety of the senior. Some proactive things that can be done are to keep a recent photograph of the senior in the home, keep an item of clothing that has been worn by the senior and keep a listing of places that the senior enjoyed or might remember to assist the police in the search. Alarming devices on doors might offer some level of security by sounding when the senior is leaving the house. There are also global positioning devices, however if these are needed it is time to make a safety move. If this level of security is necessary to keep the senior safe, it is likely time to make arrangements living alternatives.