I am the health care and financial power of attorney for my 87 year old father. He lives in the mountains in Colorado by himself and does not drive anymore. I have tried to convince him to move to a senior care facility but he doesn't think he needs it yet. He occasionally gets confused about the time of day and walks 100 yards from his house to the bus stop in the middle of the night. If he fell on an icy sidewalk or street in the middle of the night and couldn't get up and died from exposure to the cold, could I be held liable?
You have the power to place him MC, don't wait until it becomes an emergency, that is where the problems can come in for a POA, the question is always "Why wasn't this done before there was an issue you knew that dementia was present"?
Having a DPOA is not a pleasant situation as there are hard decisions that must be made.
The way you work around getting a resistant adult to move to a facility is to use "therapeutic fibs". This means traveling there to spend time with him before and after he transitions. It will be much easier if you go there.
The fib you tell him can be anything like: the well pump is broken so there's no water until they fix it and I've arranged a place for you to stay temporarily while this is happening (and you discretely shut off his water because he will check). The facilities have heard it all and will be happy to go along with whatever narrative you give him.
People his age mostly have bad memories of their LOs going into decrepit and smelly nursing homes. The ones today are often so much better, with social offerings and activities, much more social exposure, etc. But, this is a profound change for your Dad, so you may want to talk to his doctor about meds for mood, which will make it easier for him emotionally to deal with it.
Also, make sure you know he can afford a good facility (local to you would be preferable) and it accepts Medicaid.
Now, you KNOW your Dad. If you feel he would rather die in the snows of Colorado than go into care, and if you and he have discussed this, then at 81, quite honestly, I feel that's a choice. A human does not have to accept treatment nor care.
You however are POA. You have accepted that, and I assume are in some way doing it (financial management?). You are honesly beholden now to at least hire folks for him to check on him and I would say a.m. and p.m. check required whether of friend, neighbor, phone call.
I would travel now to dad and come to some conclusions of which way to go.
Surely it is clear to you that at the point your father is wandering the streets confused he must be evaluated and made safe. As to whether you get thrown in prison for not doing so? Unlikely. Your defense is that you discussed with your father, felt him safe enough, and it was his wish to stay home, and that he would rather have been eaten by cougars than gone into care. I doubt you would be imprisoned. I think that's not really the point now, is it? Isn't the point that you are aware as a son that your dad is alone and wandering the streets confused and should be in care?
I recommend a trip to your Dad ASAP and I wish you both the best whatever decisions you make together with the help of doctors and recommendations. Do your best to keep him from harm. That's what he asked of you in appointing you POA.