F0689

J

Failure to Supervise High-Risk Wanderer With Repeated WanderGuard Removal

Appleton, Wisconsin Survey Completed on 03-09-2026

Penalty

No penalty information released

Summary

The deficiency involves the facility’s failure to ensure adequate supervision and monitoring for a resident with a known history of elopement and WanderGuard (WG) removal. The resident had diagnoses including dementia, seizure disorder, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder, and a protective placement document on file requiring placement on a secured unit due to prior absconding attempts and inability to assure safety on an unsecured unit. The resident’s care plan identified elopement and wandering risk, with interventions such as WG placement, monitoring/documenting wandering episodes and triggers, and adding the resident to an elopement risk list. Despite this, an initial elopement risk assessment rated the resident as low risk, later revised to at risk and then high risk, and the facility did not consistently increase supervision or monitoring in response to repeated elopement attempts and WG removals.

Over several weeks, the resident repeatedly attempted or succeeded in leaving the facility or its immediate grounds. On multiple occasions, staff documented the resident walking up and down hallways with belongings piled on a wheelchair, locking in a guest restroom with personal items, and exiting to the front of the building or parking lot, sometimes in cold weather and without appropriate clothing. The resident cut off the WG on several dates, and staff reapplied new WGs but did not implement increased supervision or more frequent WG checks, nor did they determine or address how the resident was obtaining tools (such as scissors) or otherwise removing the device. The facility placed a WG on the resident’s wheelchair despite knowing the resident historically cut off the WG and despite manufacturer recommendations discouraging placement near metal due to interference with radio frequency. Staff also did not consistently implement individualized interventions listed in the care plan, such as offering to take the resident outside, engaging in conversations about religion or crafts, or checking daily for needed items from outside the facility.

On one occasion, the resident left the building without a walker or wheelchair, attempted to get into a visitor’s vehicle, and was brought back inside after staff were alerted by the visitor; the WG had been cut off and was later found on a unit. On another occasion, the resident exited the facility, and staff and police were unable to redirect the resident back inside immediately. The most serious event occurred when the resident was last seen in the dining room and later could not be found during rounds; staff initiated a search and located the resident in the bathroom of a nearby business across a busy street, in cold and dark conditions, after the resident had cut off the WG and hidden it in the lobby. The facility’s own investigation acknowledged that the door alarm did not sound because the WG had been removed and hidden, and that the facility could have potentially failed to keep the resident safe. Review of treatment administration records showed multiple shifts with missing documentation of required WG placement and function checks, and a gap of several days with no documented WG checks after the resident returned from the hospital. Facility leadership acknowledged that they did not attempt to increase supervision or WG checks despite multiple elopement attempts and WG removals, and staff interviews confirmed that individualized wandering and elopement interventions were not consistently carried out. These failures led to a finding of immediate jeopardy beginning on 11/6/25.