Dementia care at home in Del Mar

The rail line runs along the top of the bluff through Del Mar, with informal paths worn between the street and the sand. Residents have walked those paths for decades without thinking about them. Someone with dementia who sets off alone can end up on the tracks, at the cliff edge, or crossing Camino del Mar against the light, and all three are within a few minutes of most front doors.

Wandering usually begins with a purpose that makes sense to the person: going to work, walking the dog that died years ago, heading home to a house they left in 1970. Arguing almost never helps. What helps is making leaving harder and finding them faster.

• A lock mounted well above eye level on every door to the street, and a chime that sounds when one opens
• An ID bracelet, and a current photograph on your phone rather than one from five years ago
• Registration with the San Diego County Sheriff’s free Take Me Home program, which Del Mar deputies can search by description or photo
• A short list by the phone: the usual walking routes, the old address, the name of the dog. Those are what someone is walking toward

From June, the fair and then the racing season put traffic down Via de la Valle and Jimmy Durante, fill the side streets with parked cars, and bring noise and strangers into a quiet town. For a person with dementia, that is not a nuisance. It is a summer-long disruption to the one thing holding the days together.

• Move appointments to early morning, before the traffic builds
• Keep the daily walk, but shift it earlier and go the same way every time
• Expect more confusion on event days and plan a quieter afternoon, not a busier one
• Tell the caregiver which routes jam, so a late arrival doesn’t become a missed medication time