Family worried about wandering Alzheimers patient and cold weather

The daughter of a senior citizen in rural Saskatchewan is worried that her father is able to successfully escape his care home unnoticed and without the proper clothing for the winter.

Art Healey has Alzheimers and lives in the Rose Villa long-term care home in Rosetown, Sask., southwest of Saskatoon.

On Monday, Millie Leugner shared her story. She recalled the first time her dad escaped the facility and how they discovered that a special device — called a wander band, which is supposed to lock the doors when he approaches — was not working.

She told CBC News that a staff member of the facility arrived for a shift and found Healey in the parking lot.

"The thing is, he was found getting into a truck, or trying to get into a truck," Leugner said. "So had he got into a truck, with keys in it, where would he have gone?"

Leugner said another episode, a few weeks ago, also has the family concerned about how the facility operates. While the wander band was working on the most recent escape, her father still managed to get outside.

"[Either] the doors malfunctioned or he might have just rolled himself out behind somebody else who had left," Leugner said. "And nobody was at the front counter to check to make sure that one of the residents wasn't going out after a visitor left."

Leugner's concerns were highlighted by the NDP opposition, who say the case provides another example of problems in long-term care homes throughout Saskatchewan.

Leugner said more staff are needed at care homes.

The government, however, noted the specific concern appeared to be related to a faulty door and not the number of workers in the facility.