HCS 499 Case study 5 – Security

Janice is the head nurse in a 24-room Alzheimer wing of an assisted-living center. All 24 patients in this wing have various stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Due to the nature of the disease, the unit is permanently locked so that patients are not permitted to leave the area. Flo, one of the residents, is frequently found to be waiting at the door and attempts to leave when the door is opened. Janice has informed the entire center about security issues in her wing and all staff members are required to ensure that no one enters or leaves when the doors are opened. One evening, Janice receives an emergency call from Flo’s family saying that when they arrived to visit her, she was not on the ward. Janice now has a series of notifications to make. Who does she need to notify? What follow-up procedures should be put into place to ensure this does not happen again?