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Do nursing homes allow friends to take the patient for occasional outings?

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Nursing homes are not prisons. Residents can come and go as they please. Most of the time. Most residents.

But some residents are not competent to make safe decisions for themselves, and their guardians or next of kin may have decided for them what would be safe, and the nursing home will try to respect those decisions.

In my mom's NH I just noticed a sign on the door saying that residents need to be checked out and checked back in. I went to the desk and said I hadn't noticed that before. My sisters and I take Mom out for walks all the time. Where should we sign out? The desk person said, "Oh you just take her out for wheelchair walks around the neighborhood. We know you all. It is OK. We are concerned about taking a resident away in a car, or by people we don't know."

I think that nursing homes try to keep a fine balance between respecting their residents' independence and protecting them from harm.

So the answer is, as Babalou said, "It depends."
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As a resident in a Medicare and/or Medicaid-certified nursing home, you have certain rights and protections under federal and state law that help ensure you get the care and services you need.

Leaving for visits: If your health allows, and your doctor agrees, you can spend time away from the nursing home visiting family or friends during the day or overnight, called a "leave of absence." Talk to the nursing home staff a few days ahead of time so the staff has time to prepare your medicines and write your instructions. https://www.medicare.gov/what-medicare-covers/part-a/rights-in-nursing-home.html
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Is this a theoretical question, or do you have a relative/friend in a NH?

I think the answer is "it depends". My mom is in a NH. She has dementia and several physical problems along with very unpredictable anxiety issues. I no longer take her out in my vehicle due to an unfortunate incident where she tried to grab the steering wheel from my husband . My brother has taken her for short drives (with mom and his wife both in the back seat).

I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable if one of her 80 plus year old friends wanted to pick her up and take her somewhere, but that's based on mom's current conditions.
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Thank you, Babalou and Jeanne.
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Sistersue, not only do nursing home keep taps on their patients coming and going, I have also noticed that with the caregiver agency that I use from my Dad. If my Dad wants to visit my Mom in the rehab/nursing home, the agency calls me to see if it is ok for the visit.
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