SpecialSections

• Reprints

Keeping watch: Bracelets and watches worn by Alzheimer's residents at Rittenhouse Senior Living in Portage also act as security devices that alert staff if the resident gets to close to an exit door. | Supplied photo

Some residents of Rittenhouse Senior Living of Portage are sporting bracelets and watches. But the jewelry is much more than a fashion statement.

Both the bracelets and watches are actually security devices called Personal Watchers that are working hard to keep residents in the dementia unit safe and under the staff’s watchful eye with the help of transmitters and computer software, according to Lisa Davenport, director of nursing at the senior living facility that opened less than a year ago.

“We want our residents to feel free, not restricted. Walking is part of the process,” Davenport said.

According to www.alz.org, the website of the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 60 percent of those with dementia will wander and become lost at some point. Reasons for wandering vary: it could be the side effects of medication, stress, restlessness, anxiety, agitation, inability to recognize familiar people and places, or even the desire to fulfill former obligations such as going to work or looking after a child.

The end result, the association says on its website, can be dangerous, even life threatening.

How they work

Davenport said the bracelets, which resemble hospital bracelets, and watches, which look like sports watches, react when a resident gets within 10- to 20-feet of an exit door in the unit. She said the door is then automatically locked with an electronic lock and an alarm is sounded, alerting staff. She said staff members wear pagers that inform them which door the resident is near, which saves valuable time in locating the resident.

If no resident is near an exit door, staff and visitors can come and go freely through that door, she said.

What if visiting family members want to take a resident outside for a walk or to their home for a day trip?

Davenport said staff can bypass the system in these instances by pressing a code that only staff members know.

“Some nursing homes post their codes and families are able to get access to them,” Davenport said. But not at Rittenhouse, which can change the numbers quickly if they are compromised, she said.

Davenport said residents are assigned the bracelets or watches as soon as they move in to the Portage facility. Which one they receive depends on a couple of factors.

“The watches are intended for those who are at higher risk of wanting to remove the wrist unit. The sports watch has a small latch that locks down with a small allen wrench,” Davenport said.

The watches are also for those residents who are accustomed to wearing one of the timepieces, she said.

“A lot of our residents always had to have a watch on. They like to see what time it is,” she said.

Davenport said both devices are water-proof so they can be worn while bathing, and have batteries like any other watch, which last about six months.

Pushing the right buttons

Residents of the Alzheimer’s unit also get panic buttons, which they can push if they need assistance, and personal pendants, which have a GPS system attached to the transmitters so staff members know where the resident is at all times, Davenport said.

“We can track how many times a door opens and closes, and how many times a resident pushes a panic button,” Davenport said.

Residents are able to move freely, but staff can stay in tune with them day and night, she said.

“We’re very excited about what we’re doing here,” she added.

Rittenhouse Senior Living of Portage has 51 residents living in its dementia, assisted living and independent living areas. The facility opened in October 2010.