My husband is 85 and has Alzheimer's disease and I am his primary caregiver. It's getting more difficult for me as his disease progresses but I want to continue for as long as I can, in order to preserve our money for as long as possible. My biggest issue is that I'm afraid he will get up in the middle of the night, or at a time when I'm not as alert as necessary and wander off. Up to now I've been able to manage but we're having more and more incidents and I feel as though I'm running on luck. I have researched GPS tracking systems and am curious what you think of them, and other suggestions you may have.
Lorraine G., New York, New York
Disorientation and wandering affects nearly 60 percent of Alzheimer's patients and their families. You're smart to be open to using tracking systems and other strategies that will help prevent your husband from walking out of your home and give you some peace of mind.
Getting a GPS tracking system is a great idea. While you can now find GPS tracking in sneakers and on pendants and other easily removable articles, I would favor a system that's comfortable but harder to remove, such as this device from SafetyNet Tracking Systems, safetynettracking.com, which offers 24/7 service. There's a lease option and a purchase option starting around $500. The strap fits comfortably on the wrist or ankle.
I also recommend looking into the Alzheimer's Association's "Safe Return" program, a 24/7 nationwide emergency response service, bit.ly/1gAkwhf. When you enroll in the program you provide personal information including local police department telephone numbers, local sheriff office, and other key emergency numbers along with a recent photograph. This service provides a bracelet or necklace with an ID number that is worn by the patient. Should the patient wander, the caregiver would call the 800 number, activating a local support network to locate the individual and reunite them with their family. This service costs about $60 the first year with a lower annual renewal after that.
The Alzheimer's Association also offers a program called "Comfort Zone Check-in, www.comfortzonecheckin.com, which allows families to monitor a dementia patient's whereabouts remotely using web-based location services.
In addition to these monitoring services and GPS-based products, there are other options to consider. For example, pressure mats can be placed next to the bed and/or in front of the door. When someone steps on the mats chimes will be activated. These can be purchased on Amazon, amzn.to/1FKEHVS. Other available devices include door bell chimes that are activated when the door is opened, special types of door locks, and even motion detectors with remote alarms.
The National Institute of Health provides some excellent and important tips both to prevent wandering and to prevent the person from being lost should the prevention strategies fail. They include:
Notify your local police and your neighbors to let them know that your husband has Alzheimer's and to notify you immediately if anyone should see him out by himself.
Put identification labels in his clothing.
Keep a recent photograph (or video) of him in the event that he becomes lost.
Place large STOP, DO NOT ENTER, or CLOSED signs on doors.
Keep shoes, keys, suitcases and other "departure" articles out of site.
To learn more you can view their Alzheimer's Caregiving Tips on Wandering on the NIH website, www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/wandering.
For additional information about Alzheimer patients' wandering and more tips for preventing it, I found the website of the Mayo Clinic to be very informative, http://mayocl.in/16pmke8.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Nancy Stein, Ph.D., is the founder of Seniority Matters (www.senioritymatters.com), a caregiver advisory and referral service in South Florida for seniors and their families. You can contact her at nancy@senioritymatters.com.
(c)2015, Seniority Matters.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
