What is the Louisiana Silver Alert?

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, over 95,000 people in Louisiana are living with Alzheimer’s, and roughly 13.6% of all residents over the age of 45 are experiencing subjective cognitive decline. Families of seniors with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other cognitive impairments trust nursing homes to provide a safe environment for their loved ones, but wandering and elopement remain serious risks within these facilities.

With nearly 60% of people with dementia expected to wander away from their homes or care facilities at least once, the Louisiana Silver Alert system was created to give care staff and family members a reliable protocol for addressing incidents of wandering and elopement within vulnerable populations. Let’s explore the history and function of Louisiana’s Silver Alert system and discuss how family members can respond in the event that an elderly loved one goes missing.

What is the Silver Alert system?

The Louisiana Silver Alert program was enacted by the Louisiana legislature in 2008 and was specifically designed to aid in the identification and location of missing senior citizens or adults with developmental disabilities. The Silver Alert system works similarly to the America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert system in that, when a vulnerable adult is reported missing, a Silver Alert will be issued via media broadcasting networks, mobile devices and highway signs.

This rapid notification system enlists public assistance and coordinates law enforcement efforts across jurisdictions, thus improving the chances of a swift and safe recovery. By spreading information quickly and across multiple mediums, Silver Alerts can enhance search efforts and encourage higher levels of community involvement. If even one person sees a Silver Alert and provides a crucial tip, the system is doing what it was designed to do!

Who is eligible for a Silver Alert in Louisiana?

People often assume that Silver Alerts only apply to senior citizens with dementia, but the criteria for issuing a Silver Alert is actually far more robust. To necessitate the issuance of a Silver Alert in a missing person’s case, the missing individual must fall into one of the following categories:

• “Missing persons with developmental disabilities:” This criteria is not restricted by age and is instead intended to help with the location and recovery of any adult with a developmental or cognitive disability. As long as local law enforcement determines that an individual’s disappearance poses a credible threat to his or her personal safety, a Silver Alert can be issued to help support recovery efforts.
• “Missing senior citizens:” In Louisiana, any missing person aged 60 or older can qualify for a Silver Alert, as long as law enforcement determines the individual’s disappearance constitutes a threat to his or her health and safety. Alerts for senior citizens are not restricted only to elderly people with dementia or other related conditions, and can instead be issued in any missing persons case where an older person may be in danger.

Determinations about whether elderly or disabled adults are in jeopardy are made at the discretion of law enforcement, who will generally work to establish certain facts about a case prior to issuing a Silver Alert. Police will first want to verify that any person reported missing is, in fact, missing and not simply absent voluntarily. Law enforcement may contact a nursing home facility to learn more about a patient’s condition prior to issuing a silver alert to ensure that the system is being utilized appropriately and responsibly.

What happens after a missing senior is found?

Hopefully, a Silver Alert will contribute to the safe recovery of a missing senior citizen, at which point the alert will need to be deactivated. Once a vulnerable missing person has been found, law enforcement should be notified immediately so as not to waste any valuable resources. The agency responsible for issuing the initial alert is also responsible for notifying the Louisiana State Police (LSP) once the search has concluded, at which point LSP can inform media outlets and the public that the missing person has been found.

It is just as crucial to inform law enforcement when a senior is found as it is to inform them when a senior is missing. Failing to notify the necessary agencies in a timely manner could result in unnecessary strain on resources that could otherwise be spent searching for or attending to other community members in need. The system works best when everyone does their part, and appropriate deactivation of a Silver Alert is another vital part of the search and recovery process.

Wandering and elopement in nursing homes

Research suggests that 31% of nursing home residents wander at least once, which makes wandering and elopement one of the more common risks associated with nursing home residency. Nursing home residents, particularly those with dementia and other cognitive conditions, can find themselves in serious danger if they leave their designated facility and wander out into neighboring areas.

One of the major contributing factors to the alarmingly high rates of wandering in elder care facilities is understaffing. In a post-COVID survey, 94% of nursing home providers reported that they were experiencing staffing shortages. When nursing homes are short on staff, they are short on supervision, which makes it easier for residents to slip through the cracks. This can directly result in residents leaving nursing facilities without supervision for untold lengths of time.

Residents with memory impairments, in particular, are prone to getting lost or confused if they diverge from a familiar environment or routine. The consequences of these residents going missing from their facilities can be incredibly dire, and response time is particularly crucial in these cases. The farther these residents get from their nursing homes, the harder it is for them to find their way back again.

It is crucial for nursing homes to take preventative measures against resident elopement. This means maintaining adequate staffing ratios, as well as employing safety and security protocols designed to impede residents in their efforts to leave the grounds unsupervised. Nursing homes that cut corners in these respects place their residents at an increased risk of dangerous elopement incidents that can have incredibly harmful effects on residents, family members, and the community at large.

What to do if a loved one goes missing

If one of your loved ones suddenly goes missing while under the care of a nursing home or similar facility, there are a few things you should do right away:

1. If your loved one has been missing for less than 15 minutes, the facility should immediately initiate a search of the property and any nearby areas, including ponds, forests, and local businesses within walking distance.
2. If your loved one is not found within 15 minutes of this initial search, you should contact law enforcement immediately to provide helpful information about your loved one. You will likely need to provide demographic information like the person’s age, height, and weight, in addition to any relevant information about his or her physical abilities, cognitive condition and overall health. You will likely also be asked to provide recent photographs of your loved one to aid in the search.
3. Once a loved one is found, you should notify law enforcement right away so they can inform LSP and ask them to deactivate the Silver Alert.
4. Contact an elder abuse attorney to determine whether your loved one’s disappearance was the result of their nursing home’s negligence.

Hiring an elder abuse attorney to protect your loved ones

In cases of elopement, there could be legal recourse for families whose loved ones suffer injuries after leaving a facility because of a lack of supervision. Nursing homes are meant to provide safe environments for vulnerable elderly individuals in need of specialized care. When they fail in that effort, Garcia & Artigliere can help. Our compassionate attorneys can work with you to determine whether you have a viable case against your loved one’s nursing home facility. In a successful claim, you could recover for medical bills, pain and suffering, disfigurement, or loss of quality of life related to the elopement, abuse, or neglect of your loved one.

Call or contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.