WOOSTER – The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Project Lifesaver to locate individuals with cognitive disabilities, such as memory loss, who are moving out of their homes.
“We’re doing something proactive,” said Capt. Doug Hunter of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office. “We don’t want to wait for tragedy to happen to implement this program.”
Project Lifesaver is operated by public safety agencies worldwide. It is designed to save the lives of people with medical conditions that cause them to distance themselves from their caregivers and into dangerous, potentially life-threatening situations.
The sheriff’s office works with community groups and other organizations to spread the word about the program. According to Hunter, families have started signing.
“I am so grateful to Captain Hunter for initiating this program,” said Christel McGee, the first person in Wayne County to enroll a family member in the service.
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The program goes beyond search and rescue
“People affected by Alzheimer’s, dementia or autism can now be monitored if they migrate. My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s almost four years ago. We had our share in him trying to run away, but now we’ll have peace of mind with the monitored bracelet he’ll be wearing,” McGee said. “Our family couldn’t be happier to be the first to sign up for this wonderful service.”
The Project Lifesaver program goes beyond search and rescue by providing first responders with cognitive disability courses and the tools they need to ensure the safe and comfortable return of a loved one to a family.
The program includes a teaching proficiency certification so that sheriff’s office personnel can educate other responders about the program and how to use the equipment effectively.
“The sheriff’s office will be the program administrator,” Hunter said. “We will coordinate between our dispatch center and the Wooster Ashland Regional Council of Governments (WARCOG) dispatch center. We’re responsible for the system across Wayne County,” Hunter said. If a person living in Wooster calls 911 or calls the Wooster Police Department, we need to make sure the dispatchers there know the missing person is a Project Lifesaver subscriber.”
Founded in Virginia in 1999, Project Lifesaver has an average recovery time of 30 minutes.
“According to the National Alzheimer’s Association, a person age 65 and older has a 50 percent chance of surviving after being gone for more than 24 hours,” Hunter said.
“Quick and safe recovery” is the goal
If individuals with cognitive disabilities are missing, they may not be adequately equipped to brave the weather.
“Just recently a person went missing south of Wooster and the temperature that day was in the low 30s,” Hunter said. “We were very concerned because the person without shoes was reported missing. Luckily, the person was found north of Wooster four hours later.”
Hunter hopes to reduce the time it takes to find a person who has lost their place of residence.
“We are confident that possession of this device will result in speedy and safe recovery of missing persons,” he said.
Hunter strongly encourages anyone to call for service if they have a family member with a cognitive disability such as dementia, autism or memory loss.
“There are no monthly service fees or contracts,” Hunter said. “There is a one-time fee of approximately $325 for the bracelet. We don’t want cost to be a barrier to anyone who needs this service and are working with groups to defray the cost for those who cannot afford it.”
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