Alpena Senior Citizens Center offers Miles For Memory GPS tracking bracelets to assist with dementia – WBKB 11
The Alpena Senior Citizens Center recently received a grant to improve the quality of life for seniors in the area. They are currently making Alpena safer for people with dementia with their Miles for Memory program.
“Today we're talking about Miles for Memory, a GPS tracking system for memory, a GPS tracking system for people with cognitive impairments or dementia and their caregivers. That’s why we received funding for this program through the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and that will help us make the Alpena community safe, dementia-friendly and dementia-proof,” said Annie Hepburn, director of the Alpena Senior Citizens Center.
The GPS tracking system is installed in a bracelet that has a Miles for Memory logo on it.
“These are the bracelets and if someone has walked away or maybe they were, you know, confused and people recognize them as they walk down the street and they just looked confused, there's a QR code and the person who has the Person with dementia or their person registered.” You can find your personal data here. But only as much information as you want to give. The beauty of the QR code is that when someone scans this bracelet, the information is sent to the person's phone number, caregiver or emergency contact so they receive that information,” Hepburn said.
The bracelets can also be used for other cognitive impairments and medical problems. The grant for this program is titled DREAM, which stands for Dementia, Resources, Education, Advocacy and Mentorship.
“We really collaborated on this program, we really focused on collaborating with this particular scholarship. We've worked with first responders, people from the sheriff's department, the police, the state police, the doctors across the street, the ambulance drivers, EMS, so we have a wonderful, wonderful support team that will be working with us on this particular one Project. We all completed an eight-hour training course about a month ago and learned a tremendous amount. We also learned that there is a great need to implement these tracking systems in Alpena,” said BJ Sander, program manager of the Alpena Senior Citizens Center.
On March 14 and 15, from 1 to 3 p.m., you can call the Alpena Senior Citizens Center at 989-356-3585 to sign up for a Miles for Memory bracelet.
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