Tips to keep those with Dementia safe

A practical guide for caregivers of a loved one with dementia.

Keeping someone with dementia safe from getting lost requires implementing various strategies to minimize the risk. Here are some suggestions:
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1. Establish a structured routine: Maintaining a consistent daily routine can help reduce confusion and disorientation. Familiarity and predictability can help prevent the person from becoming agitated or disoriented.
2. Secure the living environment: Ensure the living environment is safe and secure. Consider using door alarms or motion sensors that alert caregivers to prevent your loved one from wandering outside unsupervised.
3. Simplify the living space: Minimize clutter. Remove or secure items that could be potentially dangerous, such as cleaning supplies, sharp objects, or medications. This helps reduce the risk of accidents and confusion.
4. Provide identification and contact information: Ensure that the person with dementia has identification on them at all times, such as an ID bracelet and labels sewn into clothing with identification and contact information.
5. Supervise and monitor: Regularly check on your loved one, especially during times when wandering tendencies may be more common, such as in the evening or at night. Baby monitors and surveillance cameras are readily available and easy to operate.
6. Engage in regular physical activity: Physical activity can improve sleep and help reduce the urge to wander.
7. Engage in meaningful activities: Wandering behavior in people with dementia is often associated with boredom.
8. Inform neighbors and local authorities: Let neighbors and local authorities, such as the police department, know about the person's condition and wandering tendencies. Provide them with contact information, so they can alert you if they notice the person in an unsafe situation.
9. Invest in tracking devices: GPS tracking devices, such as wearable GPS bracelets or pendants, can be helpful in locating a person with dementia who has wandered off. These devices allow caregivers to quickly locate them if they become lost.
10. Use safety devices: Automatic gas or electric stove shut-off systems are available which can help prevent accidental gas or electric stove usage.

Remember, every individual with dementia is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. It's important to regularly reassess the safety measures and adapt them based on the person's changing needs and abilities. Consulting with healthcare professionals, dementia support groups, or organizations specializing in dementia care, such as VNA of Northern New Jersey (VNA), can provide additional guidance and resources for keeping someone with dementia safe.

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Did you know that Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey is the longest-serving VNA in the state of New Jersey? So we know a thing or two about helping seniors “age in place” to avoid hospitalization and nursing homes, and also what services people need to recover from illness and surgery at home. We suggest that you learn more about our home health care services and make a plan to age at home before you have a health emergency.

Medicare and supplemental insurance often do not cover all the care our patients and caregivers need. If you would like to help, please visit vnannj.org/donate or call VNA Foundation at 973-451-4148.

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The Visiting Nurse Association of Northern New Jersey (VNA) is a leading provider of comprehensive home health care services in Morris, Hunterdon, Sussex, Warren, Somerset, and Passaic Counties in Northern New Jersey. Established in 1898, generations have known that just one call to VNA opens the door to quality, patient-centered home health care solutions that allow patients to remain in the comfort of their homes with dignity, health, and independence.

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