Resident Elopements- A culture of safety. Drills, Drills, and more Drills

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Good afternoon. Last week, we began our weekly Sunday series to provide our readers with actionable tactics you can implement within the next week to leave your facility or community a safer place.

If you missed week 1, check it out here.

Elevate your Leadership

Week 2

Last week, we laid the groundwork, completed a deep dive into our processes, and identified our gaps.

This week, we begin our cadence of elopement and safety drills. We will raise the urgency surrounding resident safety, awareness, and our processes for the next several weeks.

This week, our homework is to carry out a tabletop elopement drill on each shift.

Here is the scenario to follow:

Mrs. Jayne Smith is a resident of your community. She is alert and oriented X1 and has lived there for two months. Mrs. Smith ambulates independently, and her daughter visits with her every Sunday. Often, during their visits, they take a walk outside together. She is very social, enjoys participating in programming, and enjoys sitting in the lobby to people-watch.

Mrs. Smith, although she has cognitive impairment, has not been assessed as an elopement risk. She does not have a history of elopement or exit-seeking.

Mrs. Smith was last seen 45 minutes ago when her medication was administered. Her caregiver just went to find her and is unable to locate her.

Mrs. Smith's location: Mrs. Smith followed a visitor outside through the front door. She is sitting on the ground outside, about 50 steps from the front entrance, unharmed.

Steps to take:

Without prior notice, huddle with your leadership team to brief them on the scenario.
Select a leader to be the scribe. This individual will document a timeline of the drill.
Head to your resident area, unit, or neighborhood, and huddle the staff.
Notify them you're kicking off an emergency drill. Although the scenario is simulated, they will participate as if it were real.
Read the scenario to them. Do not inform the team where Mrs. Smith is.
Notify the team that they must work through your processes through the conversation until Mrs. Smith is located.

Questions to ask:

What next?- Use this one quite a bit.
What processes do we have in place for this scenario?
What policies should we be referring to? Where do we find them?
What systems of technologies do we have in place to prevent an elopement? (wander guard, maglocks, door alarms, etc.)
Should we verify if those systems are operating as designed?
What else should we consider?
When should I be notified if I (NHA/ED/etc.) weren't here?
If I am not available, who else should be notified?
Who's responsibility is it to search for the resident?
Should we notify Mrs. Smith's family?
Should we inform the police? When?
How do we organize a search? Who should search where?
Should we account for other residents during the process?
Once Mrs. Smith is located, how do we proceed?

Post Drill Assessment:

As a group, complete a SWOT analysis of the outcome and timeline of the drill.
Complete real-time, in-person education on the areas of opportunity identified within the SWOT analysis
Collect a sign-in sheet from the drill for your QAPI documentation.

Keep at it, and stay tuned for next Sunday's newsletter.

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