By Jessica Burkybile, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, Director of CE and Clinical, Healthcare Academy

I recently sat in on a state Nursing Facility Regulation committee meeting, and one topic came up again and again: wandering and elopement prevention. Several facilities represented in the group reported that this area is becoming heavily cited, and a few had even seen Immediate Jeopardy citations issued as a result.

As the discussion went on, I identified several common themes:

1. Equipment Checks – Are they regularly performed? (like door alarms and wandering-management systems)
2. Documentation – How are behaviors documented? Are equipment checks actually documented? Who on the team is authorized to document what?
3. Near Misses – When staff catch something before it becomes a full elopement, what happens next? Is it reported, reviewed, and acted on, or does staff act like nothing happened?

The committee was candid about where things break down: missed documentation, documentation completed incorrectly, and interventions that come too late to make a difference. None of these are complicated fixes on paper, but in the middle of a busy shift, they’re exactly the kind of gaps that turn into serious incidents and serious citations.

Here’s what I want every long-term care worker and administrator reading this to sit with: this isn’t really about avoiding a citation. It’s about the person. Someone living with dementia who wanders out of a facility is at real risk of falls, injury, exposure, or worse. We have all seen the headlines and thought it could never happen where I work. Every piece of this puzzle, from risk assessment to search planning, exists because a resident’s safety depends on it. When we get the prevention and documentation right, we’re not just protecting our survey outcomes; we are protecting someone who trusted us with their care.

That’s exactly why our team developed Wandering Management and Elopement Prevention, a ½ hour course built for anyone working in a nursing home or assisted living setting. Authored by Linda Shubert, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CDP®, the course walks learners through:

• How to identify individuals at risk for elopement, and the interventions that can prevent it before it starts
• The full range of risks associated with elopement, including the underlying needs that often drive wandering behavior
• Alternatives to restraints and how to build them into a person-centered care plan
• What a strong search plan and search process look like when someone is missing
• How to document elopement events, complete a safe return assessment, and evaluate whether your facility’s electronic wander-prevention systems are doing their job

If the conversations happening in regulatory circles are any indication, this is a good time to make sure your team’s knowledge, and your documentation practices, are where they need to be. I hope you’ll take a look at this course, and as always, I welcome any course feedback you have to share through support@healthcareacademy.com.