My wife is in a skilled nursing facility. She is in the later stages of Frontal Temporal Dementia and gets around by wheel chair. She is pretty much in her own little world most of the time. Some days rolls all over the facility, up and down the halls and now starting to go into other residents rooms. I do not see her trying to cause any harm, usually she will just roll in and sit there even if the other resident is in the room. Like most memory care residents she may pick up something and roll off with it but only because they do not understand that it is not there for them to take.
Going into others rooms is a red fag at the facility and I know that their has been at least one complaint recently. It has not been discussed yet but I know it is coming. So, I am trying to get ahead of the curve and be proactive but really have no clue what to do to stop this from occurring. My understanding from the previous incident is that the facility cannot "restrain" anyone and that includes many things which the state considers "illegal restraint". The staff so what they can but hard to watch her every minute.
Anyone have any suggestion on how to deal with this ?
Although many states and many nursing homes do not allow seatbelt restraints or fastened trays, none that I know of forbid locking wheelchairs under dining or craft tables, as an example.
You might suggest that her wheelchair be somehow flagged so that when staff sees her in a room, they re alerted to make sure it's her room she's in.
Be cooperative when they suggest ways to solve this problem. This is far from their first rodeo.
The dementia patients where she is are all in wheel chairs and most are beyond socializing I am afraid. I am sure this issue is just another phase along the way as she progresses. It will pass with in a couple of months but it could become an issue in the short term and I would prefer to keep her where she is.
Regardless of which place she is in she cannot be "unlawfully restrained" which as far as I can tell means she cannot be blocked from rolling around freely nor can she be medicated heavily enough to stop her desire to do so. The concern is not that she will steal anything its more that the dementia patients who are not as advanced get mad and as with most dementia patients including my wife, they have little empathy for others and cannot be reasoned with so it becomes a safety issue for them and my wife.
A woman wandered into another woman's room at a nursing home. A scuffle ensued. One woman got pushed to the floor, broke her hip and died a few days later in hospital.
Don't mean to frighten you but these things happen. Better nip it in the bud the best way you can.
I would discuss your thoughts with the team and see what ideas they have for her care plan. I've spent a lot of time in Assisted Living and Memory Care facilities. With the dementia patients, I just don't know how you can prevent them from visiting other residents rooms and/or picking up things that do not belong to them. Short of constant all day supervision, one on one. I don't think most facilities can provide that, unless you hire someone privately. Please let us know how it turns out.
Yes that's what I have found. Even in Assisted Living it was pretty common for someone to wander into my dad's room. Laundry was and is an issue in Memory Care, but I understand the problem and stay calm. Unfortunately new residents families at times get upset easily and can be difficult but only because they have no experience. Over time they usually figure it out and things get back to normal.