Dementia Safety · A Pillar Guide from Preferred Care at Home
Many families believe one good deadbolt, or one GPS device, will prevent wandering. It won’t — not by itself. This guide walks through a room-by-room safety plan, layered exit tools, and exactly what to do in the first hour if your loved one becomes lost. For over 40 years, Preferred Care at Home has helped families keep their loved ones safe at home.
Six in 10 people living with dementia will wander at least once, per the Alzheimer’s Association — and anyone with dementia can wander at any point after diagnosis. Here is what to understand first.
No. It isn’t something that only happens in the late stages — which is why prevention has to start early rather than waiting for a crisis.
Watch for signals before they turn into an actual exit: pacing, asking to “go home” while already home, confusion about the time of day, and restlessness in the early evening.
Wandering isn’t random — it’s usually a response to an unmet need or a confusing environment. Once you can name the trigger, you can usually design around it.
Layered prevention works better than any single device. Room-by-room fixes reduce triggers before they start, exit tools catch the moment, and supervision fills the gaps no device can.
01
Deadbolts placed high or low, out of the line of sight; keys, purses, coats, and shoes stored away; STOP signs on exit doors; doors disguised with curtains or wall-color paint; a smart doorbell or door alarm — and always a spare key nearby, never locking your loved one inside without one.
02
Night lights in bedroom, hallway, and bathroom; motion-activated lights on the bathroom path; mirrors covered in low light; furniture left in familiar layouts. In the kitchen: stove knob covers or auto shut-off, sharps and medications locked away, and the water heater set below 120°F.
03
Fencing with gates that latch out of easy reach, window-opening limiters on ground floors, and clear, well-lit pathways for supervised outdoor time. Take extra care in summer — Clarksville heat advisories make outdoor wandering a genuine heat-exposure emergency.
Disorientation combined with real-world hazards — traffic, unfamiliar terrain, extreme weather — is what makes wandering genuinely dangerous. Fort Campbell has recorded heat index readings above 100°F; a confused, overheated person outdoors can deteriorate fast.
The CDC reports 1 in 8 unpaid caregivers over 45 report worsening confusion or memory loss themselves. When exhaustion starts affecting your ability to supervise safely, that is itself a wandering risk — and the signal to bring in help.
Tennessee’s updated Silver Alert law states plainly that the first few hours are critical when a person has wandered due to dementia — the reason the first-hour plan below should exist before it’s needed.
The first hour matters more than any device you own. Keep one person at home in case your loved one returns on their own.
Closets, garage, under beds — before going outside. Then search the immediate area on foot; most people are found close by.
Do not wait. Give a recent close-up photo, current clothing description, and medical details — the first few hours are critical under Tennessee’s Silver Alert law.
Ask them to check yards and porches — and contact places tied to former homes, past workplaces, or favorite restaurants.
Have GPS device information and ID bracelet details ready for emergency responders — seconds matter.
A near-miss reveals the gaps. We help families adjust the setup and add supervision before it happens again.
For over 40 years, Preferred Care at Home has helped families keep loved ones safe at home — and our Clarksville Alzheimer’s care team watches for sundowning restlessness and rising-risk signals closely.
Summer matters here: the National Weather Service has issued Heat Advisories for Clarksville, and Fort Campbell has recorded heat index readings above 100°F — outdoor wandering is a genuine heat-exposure emergency in this region.
When caregiver exhaustion starts affecting safe supervision, respite is the answer — the CMS GUIDE Model’s 2025 respite cap reaches $2,563 per patient, and we offer respite care with no long-term contract required.
STOP and DO NOT ENTER signs on exit doors, plus doors disguised with curtains or camouflage paint — a clear path through common areas without drawing attention to exits.
Alert caregivers the instant a door opens — the win when your loved one could leave at any time. Limitation: they do nothing once your loved one is outside.
GPS locates your loved one after they’ve left — but only if worn. Back wearables up with an ID bracelet, labeled clothing (sewn on the dominant-hand side), and a recent photo you can hand to police in seconds.
Neighbor notification, daytime activity that reduces restlessness, and a consistent second set of eyes at home — 24-hour live-in care when daily supervision becomes hard to maintain.
Use both — they solve different problems. The alarm catches the exit as it happens; the GPS finds them after. Here is the decision, plainly.
Everyone living with dementia is at risk, not just people in the later stages — wandering is a common symptom tied to the disease itself, not to a specific stage.
Prevention should begin at diagnosis, well before any incident happens, and risk increases as the disease progresses.
Layer your nighttime prevention rather than relying on one fix: night lights, deadbolts placed high or low, a door alarm, and keys and shoes hidden out of sight all reduce the pull toward the door after dark.
Daytime activity and exercise also help reduce nighttime restlessness — we can help you build a plan suited to your home’s layout.
Yes — as long as you keep a spare key accessible for emergencies. Never lock your loved one inside without a way for someone to reach them quickly, per the National Institute on Aging.
A locked door should slow an exit, not trap anyone inside during an emergency.
Use both, since they solve different problems: the alarm alerts you the instant a door opens, while GPS helps locate your loved one if they get past that first line of defense.
Our caregivers can help set up a layered system that fits your daily routine, and companion visits add another layer of supervision.
Back up any wearable with labeled clothing, a recent photo, and a plan to notify neighbors and local police right away.
Some families sew ID tags into clothing on the dominant-hand side, where they’re less likely to be removed.
Search the home fully — closets, garage, under beds — then call 911 immediately. Do not wait to see if your loved one returns on their own; Tennessee’s Silver Alert law says the first few hours are critical.
Disorientation combined with real-world hazards — traffic, unfamiliar terrain, extreme weather — makes it genuinely dangerous. Fort Campbell has recorded heat index readings above 100°F in summer.
A person who is confused and overheated outdoors can deteriorate fast — which is why the first-hour plan matters.
When caregiver exhaustion starts affecting your ability to supervise safely. The CDC reports 1 in 8 unpaid caregivers over 45 report worsening confusion or memory loss themselves.
The CMS GUIDE Model’s 2025 respite cap reaches $2,563 per patient — and our respite care requires no long-term contract.
Prevention should begin at diagnosis, not after a scare.
Call our Clarksville team to build a layered plan suited to your home’s layout — no long-term contract required.
