My grandfather wanders away from home. He is no longer allowed to drive, but he hates it and rebels. The problem is we live in Houston and it isn't safe. We have even used all our resources to get him his own apartment, but he is still not satisfied. I have heard of GPS monitored bracelets, but have no idea how to get one.
Wandering is so dangerous. It might be time to think about a memory care unit.
We looked into monitors that you can access from phones, tablets or computers to watch what's going on inside and outside the residence. In our case my sister's POA decided to put her in a living facility, but she is so highly functional we are trying to bring her home with live in care. She has already figured out how to get out of the memory care unit twice so she needs one on one care that a facility just cannot provide. She has short term memory loss and wanders, other than that she does everything on her own, so she gets antsy being on lock down. Try to keep him active and on the go, the more activity they have the less likely they are to wander. God bless you and good luck.
I researched the alert systems before I decided on Guardian Medical, a local company which also provides alarm and security systems. The reason I chose them was because they were the most honest in cautioning that the GPS systems (at the time we spoke) weren't completely flawless, that they weren't satisfied with them and were continuing to research and test systems.
Other medical alert companies bragged about how helpful GPS could be but balked when I pointedly asked about the then current technological limitations. Some companies, such as those that advertise in senior magazines, refused to give me any information but wanted contact information to send literature. They were the first to be eliminated from consideration.
The pendant has worked out well; it's so sensitive that if Dad moves and/or it's dropped, within a few seconds he's contacted to determine if he's all right.
At one point it alerted twice while Dad was in church. The person who called said she could hearing church songs in the background. Just changing his position caused the device to alert and the company called me to let me know.
Here's how to get them: Google "life alert systems" or "medical alert systems" for Houston, Texas. Make a checklist of what you want, call each and determine which best suits your needs. Also Google each company and add "complaints" to determine if there have been reported problems and whether they've addressed them.
It probably wouldn't hurt to alert the Houston PD and EMS that your grandfather is a wanderer.
Has he been checked out by his doctor to determine if there's dementia involved in the need to wander?