Elopement Care in Old Lyme, CT
Specialized supervision and behavioral redirection for seniors with dementia who are at risk of wandering or leaving home unsafely.
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
Your mom walked out of the house at 2am last Tuesday, and a neighbor found her on Route 156 heading toward the train station. You installed door alarms weeks ago, but they’re not enough anymore, and you can’t sleep knowing she might try again. Elopement Care means someone is there, awake with her, watching for the signs you’ve learned to dread. We know Old Lyme families who’ve been exactly where you are right now.
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Your mom walked out of the house at 2am last Tuesday, and a neighbor found her on Route 156 heading toward the train station. You installed door alarms weeks ago, but they’re not enough anymore, and you can’t sleep knowing she might try again. Elopement Care means someone is there, awake with her, watching for the signs you’ve learned to dread. We know Old Lyme families who’ve been exactly where you are right now.
Call (475) 264-4830 Learn how it works
Elopement care is supervised safety at home for someone who wanders, gets disoriented, or tries to leave without a safe plan. It’s not just a door alarm or a reminder. It’s a trained caregiver who stays present, knows the warning signs, and keeps your parent safe while respecting their dignity and independence.
On a typical day, elopement care means your caregiver is alert during the hours when wandering happens most. They stay close, they notice changes in mood or restlessness, they redirect gently, they keep medication times on track, and they stay calm when fear or confusion shows up. Families tell us they finally sleep through the night. They stop checking their phone every five minutes.
We’re nurse-founded, which means we understand what discharge nurses at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital see: families sent home with a diagnosis and a lot of fear. We know New London County. We’ve built elopement care around what actually works for people in Old Lyme, not what looks good on paper.
Our founder built this service because she watched families try to manage wandering fear alone, with door alarms that don’t solve the real problem. We understand the 2am panic, the sibling who notices something’s wrong at a holiday visit, the exhaustion of never being fully off duty. That understanding shapes everything we do.
We don’t just send someone to sit in your living room. We listen to what scares you, what your parent responds to, what time of day is hardest. Then we match a caregiver who gets it, who’s done this work, who fits your family. That briefing process is where the real safety starts.
Elopement care situations change. Your parent has a bad day. The weather shifts. You need to adjust hours or add an extra shift. You call us, and we listen, and we make it happen without the back-and-forth or the guilt.
We’re local to New London County and we work with Lawrence + Memorial Hospital’s discharge process. We can start care fast, we understand the medical picture, and we know how to coordinate with your parent’s doctors and specialists.
How it works
We listen to your situation. No forms, no pressure, no sales pitch.
For Elopement Care specifically, not just whoever is available that week.
Often same day for urgent Old Lyme families who need elopement care now.
We stay in contact so you’re never left wondering how things are going.
Why families choose us
Every aide is trained and supervised through an RN’s lens — not just placed and forgotten.
Personality fit matters more than skill on paper. We match for temperament, pace, and patience.
No franchise rotation. You work with the people who run this agency — direct, accessible, accountable.
Most families are matched with a caregiver within 24 to 48 hours. When something shifts at home, we move quickly.
We build a daily structure around your parent’s rhythm — meals, walks, evenings — and protect it.
You hear from us, not just the aide. Updates on appetite, sleep, mood, mobility — the things that matter.
Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening — background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder — before they're ever placed in a home.
Why families trust us
Private Duty Aides is nurse-founded. Every caregiver clears a multi-step screening — a background check, reference checks, and an in-person interview with our RN founder — before they are ever placed in a home. You get the same consistent caregiver, matched by a nurse, not whoever happens to be available.
Common questions
Your caregiver is present and alert during the times when wandering is most likely. They watch for restlessness, mood shifts, or confusion that might signal your parent is thinking about leaving. They keep routines steady, stay engaged, and know when to gently redirect or when to just sit nearby. They manage medications on time, keep hydration and nutrition on track, and stay calm in moments of fear or frustration. Most importantly, they're awake and aware, not asleep or distracted.
We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of your discharge, depending on availability and your schedule. We'll do a full briefing with you and your discharge nurse to understand your parent's medical history, what triggered the wandering, and what's worked before. If you need coverage in those first hours while we're matching your caregiver, we can help you think through temporary steps. Being local to New London County means we don't have to coordinate across the state.
Elopement care is private pay, meaning you cover the cost directly. Medicare and most insurance plans don't cover this level of supervision because it's not medical care in the traditional sense, it's safety supervision and companionship. We're honest about that upfront. We can talk through what the hours and costs look like for your situation, and we won't push you toward more hours than you actually need.
A home health aide does personal care tasks like bathing, dressing, grooming, and light housework. Elopement care is about presence and safety supervision, with focus on watching for wandering, noticing changes, and keeping your parent safe at home. You can have both, and sometimes that makes sense. Elopement care is the dedicated supervision piece when wandering or disorientation is the main concern.
Yes. We ask you detailed questions about what your parent responds to, what makes them anxious, what they enjoy, what time of day is hardest, whether they do better with conversation or quiet presence, and what your biggest fears are. Then we match a caregiver who fits that picture. We're not matching based on availability alone. We're matching based on who will actually work well with your family.
We have backup. We'll call you right away and be honest about our options. We'd rather tell you we don't have a good replacement on a particular day than send someone who isn't the right fit. Most of the time, because we're local and we've built relationships in Old Lyme, we can find coverage. But we're always straightforward if we can't, and we help you problem-solve.
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Elopement Care near Old Lyme
No sales pressure. We'll tell you straight if we're not a fit.
Private Duty Aides — Old Lyme, CT
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