A nurse arrives to administer 8 AM medications and cannot locate a client who was ambulatory and cognitively intact. After a quick room search, the nurse finds the bed empty and the client not in the bathroom. What is the first action?

PATIENT ELOPEMENT/MISSING PATIENT: DEFINITION: Elopement = patient leaves a healthcare facility without medical authorisation; RISK ASSESSMENT: Patients at risk: confused/demented; psychiatric patients; patients who have expressed desire to leave; impulsive or cognitively impaired patients; IMMEDIATE RESPONSE SEQUENCE: Brief immediate search of room, bathroom, hallways; call to charge nurse/supervisor to activate protocol (this takes <2 minutes while you're searching); facility-wide search initiated; security notified; depending on patient risk: police notified; family notified; DOCUMENTATION: Time last seen; circumstances; actions taken; PREVENTION: Elopement risk assessment on admission; wander guards (door alarms for dementia patients); check-in procedures; monitoring high-risk patients; REGULATORY: Elopement injuries and deaths are sentinel events requiring immediate investigation and root cause analysis; NEVER: Wait and hope the patient returns — every minute increases risk of harm to a confused or medically fragile patient who has left the facility.