Wristbands aid in locating lost Alzheimer’s patients
A program called Project Lifesaver is providing a new level of safety
for seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease, and peace of mind
for their families and caregivers.
Alzheimer’s patients sometimes wander unknowingly, which often
leads to lengthy search-and-rescue operations. Those searches are much
shorter now thanks to technology wrapped into a wristband about the size
of the average watch.
Project Lifesaver wristbands transmit tracking signals, enabling specially
trained public-safety personnel to home in and quickly locate people
wearing them.
The Chesterfield County Police Department, in cooperation with Chesterfield
TRIAD, offers the wristbands free of charge to citizens diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s.
“Having an Alzheimer’s patient wear the wristband certainly
eases the mind of the caregiver,” said Crime Prevention Officer
Mike Catron of the Chesterfield County Police Department. “It offers
families an added measure of peace of mind that, should their loved ones
wander, they can be located quickly.”
Across Virginia and much of the United States, Project Lifesaver wristbands
are helping authorities locate wandering Alzheimer’s patients,
or people with other forms of dementia. According to the Project Lifesaver
Web site at www.projectlifesaver.org, more than 1,000 searches nationwide
have ended without injury. In Virginia, more than 300 searches have been
successful. The average search time is less than a half-hour.
Project Lifesaver wristbands are equipped with small, battery-operated
radios that transmit tracking signals every second, round-the-clock.
The batteries, which are changed monthly, last up to 45 days.
Radio technology was chosen over global-positioning-system, or GPS,
technology because of challenges involved in GPS operation. GPS units
function by communicating with satellites, but have significantly reduced
battery life compared to radio transmitters, and sometimes function improperly,
or not at all, when inside a building or under an overcast sky or heavy
tree canopy.
Before Project Lifesaver, the only program available to deal with missing
Alzheimer’s patients was a registry system. A registered patient
wore a bracelet with a
1-800 number. Someone had to notice the person wearing the bracelet
and then call for help. Because Alzheimer’s patients are often
disoriented and untrusting, it’s often difficult for people to
approach them.
Public-safety personnel who respond to Project Lifesaver calls are trained
not only to operate the tracking equipment, but on how to approach a
subject and gain his or her trust.
Chesterfield County is able to provide the wristbands to Alzheimer’s
patients free of charge through grants that are currently funding the
program’s cost, Catron said.
Project Lifesaver is endorsed by The National Sheriff’s Association,
Virginia Sheriff’s Association, Alzheimer’s Foundation of
America, International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners and
the Commonwealth Autism Service Board.
For more information about Project Lifesaver in Chesterfield County,
call Crime Prevention Officer Mike Catron of the Chesterfield County
Police Department at 674-7006, ext. 112.
By Dave Goode
|
