Case
Tim is a 79-year-old man with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease who was admitted from his home to a rural nursing home for long-term care. Tim is fit and slim, walks well with good balance, and is able to do his activities of daily living with some supervision. Tim is also a “wanderer,” is hard of hearing, and is very confused about where he is. Three days after he was admitted Tim was found missing from his room when the nursing assistant brought dinner. On this particular cold, dark, and foggy evening there were three nursing assistants and one licensed vocational nurse on duty (acting as the charge nurse). In addition, there was one physical therapist working late to finish up on the day’s paperwork. The facility had 51 residents, some of whom had moderate to severe dementia, plus eight acute rehab patients.
As soon as Tim was reported missing, a search was begun. Two of the nursing assistants refused to join the search outside because they were afraid of the dark. They also felt that they should not leave the rest of the residents alone. The charge nurse, PT, and one nursing assistant began searching while the two remaining nursing assistants rummaged through drawers for flashlights. Five flashlights were found but all had dead batteries and no fresh batteries were available. The charge nurse and the PT agreed not to call 911 or notify the facility administrator or the family. They felt confident that they would quickly find Tim and get him back to his room for dinner.
After a search of about 30 minutes Tim was found on his back in a shallow stream next to the horse pasture that abuts the nursing home. He had fallen, slid under a barbed wire fence down a 10-foot muddy slope and was stuck, unable to stand. He was in jeans and a T-shirt; the temperature outside was 38 degrees.
The charge nurse and the PT discussed whether to call 911 but decided against it. They used a doubled sheet to pull Tim up the slope and assisted him back to his room. He appeared to be unharmed. Tim’s nursing assistant cleaned him up, found dry clothes, and encouraged him to eat his dinner. The charge nurse decided not to document all the details of Tim’s outside adventure and the PT finished her paperwork and went home.
On Saturday morning, the PT, feeling uncomfortable about what had happened, called the state department of health and reported the incident. She felt certain that if nothing was done that this would happen again. On Monday morning, the LVN who had been in charge during Tim’s escape called the PT into a supply closet and loudly dressed her down for calling the state. The PT wasn’t sure what to say so she just listened and silently went back to work, ashamed that she had gotten the LVN in trouble. A representative from the state reviewed the incident but no action was taken against the facility.