Locating People Who Wander

What Is Project Lifesaver International?

I first read about this project in the Summer 2010 publication of Care Advantage. This is a program for individuals that wander. Each individual wears a tracking device that allows first responders and volunteers to quickly find them. In 1999 32,000 people with Alzheimer's wandered away. Every year there are numerous cases of people with Alzheimer’s, Autism, Down syndrome and others wandering off and dying from misadventure.

When your loved one is missing it is a terrifying experience and time is critical. As a caregiver I did everything in my power to keep Mom safe and I watched her like a hawk. I wrote about her wandering in a previous post, and some of the things we did to keep her safe. I tried lots of things. I even thought about tracking devices but could not afford what was out there at the time.

When I read about Project Lifesaver International, I was thrilled that someone had come up with a tracking device and a way to include first responders into a program to quickly locate people who wander. They even have some family stipends available.

According to Project Lifesaver:

“The U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs – Bureau of Justice Assistance has awarded federal funding to assist in education, awareness, equipment, and public policy efforts to help expand Project Lifesaver’s lifesaving program across the country – directly helping individuals that suffer from Alzheimer’s disease/dementia who wander.

Project Lifesaver is a network of first responders who combine the power of simple, effective tracking technologies with proven search and rescue techniques to find your loved one safely and quickly, should they wander. Now, for a limited time, up to 1,800 families may enroll in the program at no cost, thanks to a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance. This is our family stipend program.”

Contact Scott Nester for more information about the stipend program – snester@projectlifesaver.org or 1-757-546-5502 Ext 112.

Raising Awareness

45 states and 1,100 agencies are involved with Project Lifesaver. It is important to get your local community involved if it isn’t already. Regardless it is important to get this information out to families who have loved ones who wander. It is one more tool you can use to protect those you love who can’t protect themselves. There are grants available to communities to set up this program if one is not available. The great thing is that it is currently available in the United State, Canada and Australia. Please encourage the agencies you work with to explore this program and help bring it to more communities. For further information contact www.projectlifesaver.org or call 1-877-580-5433

Preventing Wandering with Door Alarms

Sundowners combined with wandering can be a trying time for caregivers. My mother only experienced "Sundowners" for a short time. However one experience lasted over a week during which she did not sleep at all. I managed for about three days to stay awake. It was a grueling experience. I was fearful that she would go outside and I wouldn't hear her leave. I talked to Mom's social worker, Dee Dee, and she suggested door alarms.

The set we got was from RadioShack and was actually a home security system. The system had wireless alarms that were attached to the door and frame. It had a central receiver that was plugged in. You could program it to call the police if the alarm went off (I disabled this option). The door alarms could be set to "chime" or make a "raucous noise" that was loud enough to wake the neighbors.

Shortly after the alarms had been installed I was talking on the phone to Dan (my husband to be, at this time we were just dating). Just before he called me, a friend of mine and her grand-children stopped by to visit. While talking to Dan one of the kids went out the door, making it chime. I continued talking because Mom was sitting on the couch beside me. After the door chimed Dan said, "Why are you still on the phone?" I explained to him that Elsie and her kids were here and Mom was safe.

I was amazed when I realized how conditioned all of us were to listen for the chime. The door alarms saved my sanity and kept Mom safe.

I have seen updated door alarms in several places. The prices for most systems are very reasonable. (1) Wireless Door Alarm (2) Wireless Door Watch Alarm (3) Door Alarms

Wandering

Many people with Alzheimer’s or other memory challenged folks sometimes wander and cannot tell anyone who they are or where they live. When Mother would get away from one of the caregivers or me; we would start to search. Talk about panic and anxiety.


The other day a friend of mine told me of an incident where she found a lady who did not know her own name or who to contact. My friend called the police and eventually this lady and her family were reconnected. One of her observations was no one really knew how to respond to this situation (911; the police; the family nor community members at large. This got me to remembering my own experiences both as a searcher and as a community member in a similar situation.


As I was surfing I saw an ad for a GPS unit for people with Alzheimer’s. The initials GPS stands for global positioning system. It helps track an individual’s location if they have a GPS device with them.


My research showed that several other countries have GPS bracelets and other GPS jewelry that hasn’t yet been offered in the United States. I did find several companies that do offer some form of GPS monitoring devices for families. (1) Quest Guard (2) World Tracking Solutions (3) Wander Guard (4) RadioShack

Our Good Health has an interesting article about practical solutions for real problems that are faced by care givers and their families.


The Alzheimer’s Store and found two books that connects to the problems of wandering. The first is a workbook called “In Search of the Alzheimer Wanderer” by Mark Warner. It is a workbook for the families and community members to deal with the problems of wandering. The statistic that I read said many wanderers die if not found in the first 24 hours. The second book is the story of Stella Mallory Dickerman “Gone Without a Trace”, who unfortunately was not found in time. It is written by her daughter Marianne Caldwell.



The GPS units that I located were a little pricey but I noticed an article from a community service organization seeking information and prices because they wanted to purchase GPS device for several families.