Elopement is a particularly dangerous form of wandering where the individual leaves an area of safety and doesn’t return. In a nursing home, wandering might mean leaving a safe area within the facility to access another room or a closed-off or restricted location within the grounds of the establishment.
Generally, elopement describes the act of a resident leaving the premises altogether, thereby making them vulnerable to various external hazards they’re otherwise not exposed to within the nursing home environment and putting their overall well-being at risk.