June 13, 2017
By Sheila Mazzaferro
What do people who suffer from Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism and down syndrome all have in common?……. The tendency to wander.
Over 5 million people in this country suffer from Alzheimer’s disease; 1 in 45 Americans have autism. Of those, 60% of Alzheimer’s patients and 49% of autistic persons will wander at some point. Because many are unable to communicate and become confused, these individuals cannot seek help to return home. The longer they are missing, the more increased the risk of serious injury or even death.
A typical search for these individuals takes approximately 9 hours. At a cost of $1,500 per hour, the average search comes to a total of $13,500. With Project Lifesaver, the average search is 30 minutes and to date they have a 100% success rate with 3,269 rescues.
Started in 1999, Project Lifesaver is an award winning program consisting of police, sheriff, fire, public safety departments and other emergency responders. The individual with tendencies to wander wears a small transmitter on their wrist or ankle that emits a tracking signal. It looks similar to a watch, but sends out one of three transmissions: radio frequency, global positioning system (GPS) or assisted global positioning system. When the individual is missing, a call is made to Project Lifesaver to explain the situation. They, in turn, will contact local responders with coordinates of the individual based on the tracking signal being sent. The responder now knows exactly where to look, saving crucial time.
The Project Lifesaver program currently has over 1,500 member agencies in 50 states, but there is some work involved to become a participant. Each participating agency receives a 2 day on-site training for up to 7 people and a 1 day training up to 7 people to become instructors for the program with re-certification every 2 years. Certified Project Lifesaver first responders are also trained to understand the behavior of adults and children that could be at risk. They also give instruction to families and caregivers for maintenance and for reporting if their loved one goes missing.
Bringing this issue to the forefront is imperative. Not only do we need to get the word out about this huge issue, but knowing there is a product out there that can help these families and give them peace of mind, gives us, as a community, enough of a reason to help raise the funds necessary. The funding can be helped with various grants but bringing awareness is the main way to help cover costs.
For more information about Project Lifesaver, please visit their webpage at www.projectlifesaver.org or call (757)546-5502.
LIFT staff, Sheila Mazzaferro and Hope Weichman recently met with Elk County Sheriff, Todd Caltagarone and 9-1-1 Coordinator, Sherri Lovett in an effort to collaborate to bring Project Lifesaver and its technology to Elk County. After researching and reviewing the benefits and value of this program, we are pleased to announce the partnership between these three agencies.
A letter of intent will be written to Project Lifesaver as the beginning stage of the process. This can only become a reality with community support and involvement. LIFT will work to secure funding through local foundations and community sponsorships and as always, would welcome all contributions.
If you would like more information, please contact Sheila or Hope at 814-781-3050. To make a contribution to our local efforts for Project Lifesaver, send checks payable to LIFT (Project Lifesaver), 503 E. Arch St., St. Marys, PA 15857.
We cannot do this alone; we need you, the members of our community, to GET THE WORD OUT in order to make Project Lifesaver a SUCCESS!