Alzheimer’s patient wanders away, wife demands answers

By Harry Samler

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — The wife of a 73-year-old Alzheimer’s patient in Marietta is furious with the assisted living facility that allowed him to escape.

Doctors diagnosed Lamar Jones, a U.S. military veteran, with the disease in 2016. The couple moved into their daughter’s basement in-law suite.

When Lamar Jones began wandering away from the house, Sue Jones put him in Brickmont Assisted Living West Cobb’s memory care unit.

Sue Jones said she told the facility her husband had a tendency to wander, and provided Atlanta News First Investigates with a doctor’s medical form with instructions to “monitor for wandering.”

“The thing about him that hurts my heart the most is he is the kindest, nicest human being ever.

Lamar Jones’ stay at Brickmont West Cobb lasted eight days. On Oct. 12, Jones found an unsecured window and crawled into the facility’s courtyard.

In an Atlanta News First Investigates interview, Lamar Jones said he remembered using a bench to scale the courtyard’s 12-foot fence, jump into the rear parking lot and wander away.

“I really wanted to get out of there,” he said.

Lamar Jones also recalled walking into the woods behind the building and then along Dallas Highway in Marietta. He walked for two and a half miles before entering a Kroger to ask for help.

“If you have Alzheimer’s, you’re not thinking like you and I are thinking,” Sue Jones said. “He is confused, frustrated and scared.”

Sue Jones said her husband had cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but Brickmont West Cobb allowed him to return. She said she got Lamar Jones fed, showered and settled in.

What happened next took her by surprise. Sue Jones claimed a Brickmont employee called and told her to return to the facility immediately. She arrived to find paramedics and police, and said Brickmont staff told her Lamar Jones raised a shade to a window. Sue Jones said she was told by staff, “We can’t keep him anymore.”

A police bodycam video shows an employee telling an officer Lamar Jones was hallucinating but had no other behavioral issues.

Sue Jones said Brickmont West Cobb’s director instructed paramedics to transport her husband to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. She said a psychiatrist confirmed his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and wanted to send him back to Brickmont, but the facility refused with no explanation.

Sue Jones took Lamar Jones home and filed a complaint with the Georgia Department of Community Health. She received a response that supported her complaint.

“Our professional surveyor(s) investigated you allegation(s) on 11/14/2023 and the evidence obtained during the investigation was able to support one or more of your allegation(s),” the department said. “Please be assured that we will continue to hold this facility accountable for providing safe care.”

Sue Jones paid more than $5,000 in October’s rent and asked for a partial refund for the days her husband wasn’t there an amount totaling $2,400.

Brickmont West Cobb did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Sue Jones eventually received an offer for a $1,950 refund.

Sue Jones has hired an attorney and plans to file a lawsuit for negligence.

“He deserves dignity, and he deserves respect,” Sue Jones said. “He does not deserve to be treated the way he was treated, and all I did as his wife and his caregiver was stand up for him. I’m standing up for him. I’m his voice!”

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