Integrated security solutions can’t prevent wandering, but they are necessary for a proactive wander management program
Whether you manage or oversee operations in a healthcare or long term care facility, ensuring the safety of your residents and patients is a top priority. High-risk patients such as unsupervised children, those with dementia, or even those under psychiatric care will wander a facility for a variety of reasons – and understandably so. Whether it be due to an attempt to find someone or something, being lost, or experiencing confusion, patients can wind up in unsafe circumstances or restricted areas. The potential dangers of unspecified resident or patient wandering can be catastrophic.
Depending on your facility’s needs and budget, there are a wide variety of integrated security solutions that can be implemented as part of a comprehensive solution. No matter the type of healthcare facility, the wander prevention program must seek to establish freedom, dignity, safety, and the security of all patients.
Access Control to Increase Safety
Access control solutions can monumentally contribute to the overall safety and well-being of your patients or residents. Access control systems can prevent residents from straying from allowable areas of the facility or from wandering into potentially hazardous areas by locking specific doors and restricting access to residents who may intentionally or unintentionally attempt to leave.
Video Surveillance For Resident Monitoring and Identification
Not only can video surveillance allow for both onsite and remote monitoring, but it can also aid in identifying when residents wander away from designated areas. It can also help in the process of identifying which patients have potentially wandered away from allowable areas.
Receivers for Patient Protection
Wireless receivers located within a resident or patient community can detect alarm signals from a resident’s wearable technology (such as a pendant, watch, or bracelet), allowing residents the freedom and dignity to move about the community. When wireless receivers are integrated and calibrated for patient detection, the sensors can detect when a patient or resident has entered a potentially hazardous area such as a stairwell or supply room or when they’ve strayed from the designated areas they’re able to occupy independently.
Real-Time Location Systems with Patients in Mind
In combining wearable technology with wireless receivers, these systems can provide real-time awareness to a patient’s exact location at all times. This interface comprises a real-time location tracking system that is specifically designed to prevent the potentially dangerous consequences of wandering. Straying away from allowable areas of a facility can trigger alarm responses to alert facility personnel to the event. Not only do real-time wearable solutions monitor location, but they provide residents with a sense of independence and dignity.
Alarming Your Facility
Today’s modernized alarm systems allow for a range of customizable triggers such as wandering, access, system supervisory, and patient or resident loitering to name a few. There also exist several alerting mechanisms ranging from blatant alarming to more discreet system notifications pushed to mobile devices. The goal of these alarm solutions is to create an environment of freedom and encourage patients and residents to engage in their daily life activities while promoting their dignity and safety.
Alarm Systems Inc. (ASI) can help you design a wandering management system to fit your facility’s specific needs and budget so that you can prioritize the safety and care of your patients.
