**View Full Press Conference and Technology Demonstration HERE.**
February 27, 2019 – The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is donating 100 bracelets/transmitters to Westchester County to use as part of its Project Lifesaver program, which helps protect individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and autism from wandering. The donation amounts to a $30,000 grant from AFA to Westchester County. The news was celebrated today with a demonstration of just how this technology works by the County’s Department of Public Safety.
Currently the program is administered by Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) in North White Plains. The way it works is WJCS accepts applications and meets with families to discuss the program. Subsidies are available so the program can have maximum reach. If a family decides to sign up, WJCS provides County Police with the tracking frequency associated with each bracelet.
County Executive George Latimer said: “Wandering is a serious concern for caregivers all across Westchester County. The work done by AFA and WJCS is saving lives and I am proud to say they are our partners with our Seniors and Public Safety Departments. Westchester County extends our thanks to AFA for this donation that can provide a safety net to 100 more Westchester County families.”
AFA President and CEO Charles J. Fuschillo, Jr. said: “AFA is pleased to work with County Executive Latimer to provide this important public safety technology to Westchester County which will help save lives and prevent tragedies. Wandering is a very common and potentially dangerous behavior among individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairments such as autism. Utilizing this technology gives family caregivers another resource, as well as peace of mind, to keep their loved one safe.”
WJCS Program Coordinator, Autism Center Lee Englander, M.A. said: “We are proud to partner with Westchester County and AFA on Project Lifesaver. The work we administer brings such relief to caregivers in our County and we are honored to serve the families that we do. This donation will help us not only continue but expand our work and we thank AFA for their generous gift.”
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said: “Our officers have used this tracking equipment to locate more than a dozen missing persons who wandered away from their homes and went to places such as wooded areas, bodies of water, basement rooms and a vacant apartment. It would have been more difficult to find these persons in a timely manner without the tracking capability. Without the bracelets, some of these incidents may very well have ended in tragedy.”
The bracelets, which individuals register for voluntarily, emit a radio frequency which specially trained law enforcement officers can use to quickly locate the person if they go missing. County Police officers placed an activated tracking bracelet away from the press conference location, inputted its frequency into the tracking equipment, and demonstrated how the equipment led searchers toward the tracking device. When officers are moving toward an activated bracelet, the tracking equipment emits a series of loud, steady beeps. If searchers are moving away from it, the beeps get weaker, indicating that that searchers should alter their direction as they search.
Wandering is a very common and potentially dangerous behavior associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses, as well as autism. Someone with Alzheimer’s disease who wanders may be disoriented, unable to remember how to get back home or know how, or who, to call for help.
Seniors Programs & Services Commissioner Mae Carpenter said: “Our department takes very seriously the job that we are tasked with when it comes to protecting our seniors and empowering our caregivers from the dangerous of wandering. Thank you to AFA and WJCS for their efforts to help spread the reach of Project Lifesaver.”
For more information about the program, or to register, check out www.westchestergov.com/seniors or call WJCS at 914-761-0600 ext. 230.