GPS monitoring devices

borodawkajlb

Hi Guys,

I am in the process of moving my father with dementia into my home. He is coming from a city and LOVES to walk. I live in a rural area and have lots of woods around me. Right now I can track my dad with his cell phone but I would prefer a back up just in case. We also don't have the best reception outside of our home.

Thanks for all you support!

Carrie2023

The cell phone tracker is great, until he doesn't take it with him. I used an app on my LO cell phone, and I put an Apple air tag on her keychain. At some point, she forgot to take either of them. I would be very concerned if your father got out of the house, especially with the woods there. Maybe place a lock on the door that he can't operate just to keep him safe, and then he can go for a walk with you or other family.

harshedbuzz

IMO, there is no electronic device-- not a tracker, not a camera system, not an automatic medication dispenser-- that replaces human supervision. PWD get lost on walks all the time. A gentleman in the next town went missing last summer and it was a frantic 24 hours before he was found alive but dehydrated. Until this happened, he'd taken a walk daily after lunch without incident.

If a PWD has reached a point where they are not safe living alone than they will not be safe walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood. I would anticipate that the rural setting without sidewalks or marking crossing could make this doubly unsafe. I would walk with him or trailing him a few times before I would even consider this. Many families who have a walker, hire someone to take the walk with them as a companion.

In terms of trackers, I like an Apple Watch which has fall detection but it's easily removed. My mom had Tiles on her keys and bag (originally because she misplaces things- LOL I had to help her find her Roomba earlier this week) but I found they didn't update her location as quickly as her watch does. FTR, mom doesn't have dementia. I was doing the tracking so I could arrange to collect her from the train station if I didn't know which train she was on.