August 31st, 2010
Aug. 29–BOONEVILLE — Some 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s — a brain-damaging disease that gradually robs its victims of mental and physical acuity.
Unless dramatic medical breakthroughs provide cures or preventives, 7.7 million are expected to have the disease by 2030, when all baby boomers will be at least 66 years old.
Alzheimer’s — the most common of several related dementias — costs the nation an estimated $172 billion each year, and it is the seventh-leading cause of death for Americans — the fourth for those over age 65.
Tags: Alzheimers, Booneville, Dementia, University of Mississippi
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August 13th, 2010
NORFOLK – Recent searches for two missing Alzheimer’s patients in Virginia Beach show just how hard it can be to track down a missing loved one.
Mary Butts disappeared from her home last month on the hottest day of the year. She was missing for five days before someone found her, dehydrated and sunburned, lying in a ditch.
Just yesterday, 63-year-old James Brandon vanished from his Virginia Beach apartment. He was found in Portsmouth overnight.
Tags: Alzheimers, Project Lifesaver, receiver, transmitter, Virginia Beach
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August 9th, 2010
Myrtle Beach firefighters battled city police officers today on the diamond. The annual baseball game is known as the Guns and Hoses event.
Tags: autistic children, baseball game, Guns and Hoses, Myrtle Beach, Project Lifesaver, transmitters, wander off
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August 9th, 2010
VIRGINIA BEACH — “Physically, she’s strong. She’s very fatigued and tired,” says Terry Allred of her mother, Eileen Butts. “As far as being able to walk, you know, she’s doing fine with that.”
79-year-old Butts returned to her home in King’s Grant Thursday after spending several days in the hospital.
The Alzheimer’s patient wandered off from her house July 25 looking for flowers. That search triggered another one when Butts never returned.
Tags: Alzheimer's patient, autism, Butts, Dementia, Down syndrome, Project Lifesaver, Virginia Beach
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July 8th, 2010
CARY, N.C., July 7 –
Six national autism groups join forces to address risks associated with wandering from safe environments
CARY, N.C., July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new coalition of six national autism non-profit organizations, Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response Education (AWAARE), launched its website today( www.awaare.org ) in a collaborative effort to prevent wandering-related injuries and deaths, apparently on the rise in the autism community. Coalition member organizations are AutismOne, Autism Speaks, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, the HollyRod Foundation, the National Autism Association (NAA), and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA.)
Tags: autism, Autism Safety Project, Autism Speaks, AutismOne, AWAARE, Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism, HollyRod Foundation, National Autism Association, Talk About Curing Autism
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July 8th, 2010
The case of a 13-year-old autistic boy wandering from home highlights the need for Project Lifesaver.
The program’s Indianapolis coordinator, Wayne Township Fire Captain Michael Pruitt, appeared on Indy’s Morning News on 93 WIBC Tuesday.
Tags: autism, autistic, Indianapolis, Project Lifesaver, transmitter, wandering
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June 25th, 2010
Gene Saunders
President and Chief Executive Officer
Project Lifesaver International
Project Lifesaver International, Inc., www.projectlifesaver.org, thanks the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for voting 14 to 5 in favor of H.R. 908, a bill to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program. We especially thank Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) for his leadership and support of this Department [...]
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June 14th, 2010
Angela Davis and her 6-year-old daughter Chloe use the city of Cape Coral’s Project Lifesaver bracelet.
By TIFFANY REPECKI, trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
After Aldo Bertolini was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2000, it took about four years before the Cape Coral man began to walk off due to the disease.
“By 2004, he started to wander a little bit,” his wife, Dolores Bertolini, said.
Later that year, while the couple was attending a parade for Relay for Life, Dolores turned to her husband at one point and discovered Aldo was nowhere to be seen. He had wandered away. It took more than an hour to locate him.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Cape Coral, Cape Coral Community Foundation, Down syndrome, peace of mind, wristband
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June 10th, 2010
May 20, 2010 (HINSDALE, Ill.) (WLS) — A special photo exhibit featuring art created by autistic children is on display in Hinsdale.
The exhibit, Kids with Cameras, had the children capture the world the way they see it.
Tags: Hinsdale, photo exhibit
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June 7th, 2010
BRUNSWICK: An electronic tracking device has a 100 percent success rate in locating people who have wandered off, including Alzheimer’s patients, and children and young adults who have autism.
Brunswick is one of only a handful of cities in Ohio using the new technology. It is provided free to residents who request it to protect a family member who might be prone to wandering away.
Tags: autism, Brunswick, Ohio, peace of mind, running, technology, transmitter, wandering, WKYC
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June 7th, 2010
The Panama City Police Department has purchased Project Lifesaver equipment using grant money. The set of equipment can track anyone who is a participant in the program if they are wearing the transmitter. The transmitter can be worn as a bracelet, anklet or it can be attached to clothing.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Panama City, Project Lifesaver, transmitter, wandering
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May 28th, 2010
Supervisor Alex Gromack and Councilman George Hoehmann are set to announce today the launch of Clarkstown’s Project Lifesaver, a public safety program designed to use technology in assisting those who care for individuals with cognitive disabilities such as Alzheimer’s disease, Autism and Downs Syndrome who become missing due to wandering.
The Project Lifesaver program places personalized radio transmitters on identified persons who may wander away from the safety of their homes. These transmitters assist caregivers and local emergency agencies in locating those individuals.
Town officials and police officers will be demonstrating how the program works today.
Hoehmann proposed creating Project Lifesaver for Clarkstown when he joined the Town Boad in 2009. The program is offered across the country and places a bracelet that pulsates an electronic signal that if a person who has a history of wandering or eloping can be tracked.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, caregivers, Clarkstown, Down syndrome, local emergency agencies, Project Lifesaver, Silver Alert
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May 17th, 2010
Tracking devices used by some with dementia also beneficial for some children.
By KIM KILBRIDE Tribune Staff Writer
Jenna Senger sports a little plastic bracelet these days that she and her family refer to as her watch. The story behind how the 5-year-old from Millersburg ended up with the Project Lifesaver device that would help police and trained volunteers track her should she ever run away is one that makes her mom Julie emotional to tell.One day last fall, Jenna — who has Down syndrome — and her mom were playing with the family’s dogs in their fenced-in backyard when the phone rang.
Tags: Dementia, Down syndrome, Elkhart County, Jenna Senger, Mishawaka Police Department, Project Lifesaver, TRIAD
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May 13th, 2010
New “Lifesaver Angels” program enables an individual, business, or corporation to “adopt” a country, agency, or participant who wants to join Project Lifesaver
May 13, 2010 – Chesapeake, Virginia – In the wake of a high-profile search and rescue operation of an 11-year old girl with Asperger’s syndrome in a swampy, alligator-infested area in Florida, Project Lifesaver was inundated with requests from parents who want to protect their children from wandering.
In an effort to assist families and caregivers with their loved ones who wander, Project Lifesaver is launching a new “Lifesaver Angels” program which enables an individual, business, or corporation to “adopt” a participant, agency, or even a country who wants to participate in Project Lifesaver, but who could not, under normal circumstances, afford the program on their own.
Tags: adopt, agency, Alzheimers, autism, child, Down syndrome, family, Lifesaver Angels, Project Lifesaver
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May 10th, 2010
On Friday, Mrs. Virginia International, Heather Thompson, visited Project Lifesaver Headquarters.
When her oldest son was 5, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with Autism – making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. As Heather [...]
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May 5th, 2010
By KIRK JOHNSON
ASHBURN, Va. — For generations, the prototypical search-and-rescue case in America was Timmy in the well, with Lassie barking insistently to summon help. Lost children and adolescents — from the woods to the mall — generally outnumbered all others.
But last year for the first time, another type of search crossed into first place here in Virginia, marking a profound demographic shift that public safety officials say will increasingly define the future as the nation ages: wandering, confused dementia patients like Freda Machett.
Tags: Alzheimers, Dementia, Division of Emergency Management, fog of age, Mr. Schaefer, Project Lifesaver, Virginia Dept of Criminal Justice Services
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April 30th, 2010
Great RESCUE! http://www.kptv.com/video/23305080/index.html
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April 29th, 2010
By Ray Pitz
The Sherwood Gazette, Apr 28, 2010
A radio tracking system designed to find those who wonder away from home more than proved itself on Sunday, helping to locate a developmentally disabled Sherwood youth who disappeared on his bike.
Nicolas Oldenstadt was outside his home shortly after 7 p.m. when he vanished. Frantic, his mother, Kathy Oldenstadt, called 9-1-1 about 15 minutes after she was unable to locate her 18-year-old.
“I had no idea what direction he went,” said Oldenstadt. “He’s very curious and always wants to be outside running.”
He’s very quick as well, Oldenstadt pointed out. Her biggest fear was that he headed from their LaBrousse Road home to Highway 99w.
The one saving grace was that he was wearing a Project Lifesaver bracelet, which allows tracking via hand-held antennas.
A short time later, no less than a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, a Sherwood and King City police officer and a county search and rescue team representative responded to her home, carrying with them no fewer than three different antennas to help locate the teen.
For a worried Oldenstadt, the time between the time her son disappeared and the time he was discovered was something of a blur.
Tags: bracelet, Elder Safe Program, Project Lifesaver, Sherwood, Washington County
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April 27th, 2010
Posted: Saturday, April 17, 2010 6:00 am | Updated: 11:56 pm, Fri Apr 16, 2010.
BY RANDY BURNS rburns@theitem.com
Three weeks ago, WynnDee DuRant returned home with her 7-year-old daughter, Kelli, after picking her up from school.
She left Kelli, who has autism, at the computer while she went to the bathroom.
But Kelli was nowhere to be found when the mother got back.
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome, Kelli, Pilot Club, Project Lifesaver, Sumter County Sheriff's Office, traumatic brain injuries
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April 22nd, 2010
April 22, 2010, Chesapeake, VA – Today’s Caregiver, the first national magazine for all family and professional caregivers, as well as caregiver.com, announced the 2010 Caregiver Friendly® Award recipients today. The Caregiver Friendly® Awards are designed to celebrate products, services, books and media created with the needs of caregivers in mind.
Project Lifesaver International (PLI) has been awarded a 2010 Caregiver Friendly Award in the service category. “The average caregiver is responsible for over $40,000 in health related expenditures each year, either in personal or directed funds,” says Gary Barg, Today’s Caregiver magazine’s Editor-in-Chief. “This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones.”
Tags: Caregiver Friendly Award, Fearless Caregiver conference, Ft. Lauderdale, Project Lifesaver
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April 19th, 2010
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Since 11-year-old Nadia Bloom wandered off and got lost in the woods near her home, many parents have been asking, how they can keep their children from getting in a similar situation?
Deputies showed WFTV a device called Project Lifesaver that can help them find lost kids in just minutes.
“It’s the scariest feeling you’ll ever have,” parent Denny Mulholland said.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Nadia Bloom, Project Lifesaver, WFTV
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April 16th, 2010
Great News Coverage From Quincy, Illinois! HERE.
Tags: autism, Illinois, Project Lifesaver, Quincy
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April 14th, 2010
April 14, 2010 – Chesapeake, VA – Earlier this year, President Barack Obama launched a public nomination process for the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award. According to the official release, for over 40 years, the Presidential Citizen’s Medal has recognized Americans who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” Past recipients have included some of America’s most respected public figures, including Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali and others.
Following this public announcement, the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office in Lynchburg, Virginia, decided to nominate Chief Gene Saunders of Project Lifesaver International, who they felt was more than deserving of the award.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, exemplary deeds of service, Lynchburg Sheriff's Office, President Barack Obama, Presidential Citizen's Medal, Project Lifesaver
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April 14th, 2010
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLA. – On Friday, a girl with Asperger’s syndrome disappeared into the woods near her Winter Springs home. Nadia Bloom, 11, was found alive Tuesday after an exhaustive search involving hundreds of people.
One family in Royal Palm Beach said a piece of technology gives them comfort that something like that is less likely to happen to their child.
Tags: Asperger's syndrome, Project Lifesaver, Royal Palm Beach, transmitter
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April 14th, 2010
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Kari White, a mother to two autistic daughters, anxiously watched the disappearance and search for Nadia Bloom unfold.
That’s because her daughter Ashley has wandered off before.
“It was the most horrible thing I ever felt. You’re breathless you can’t catch your breath,” said White, who now has a safeguard against her children wandering off.
White and thousands of other families across the nation have turned to a Project Lifesaver, a product designed to locate missing people with mental illnesses, autism, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Lake County, Project Lifesaver
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April 6th, 2010
WESTON — The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department is working with the local Senior Center to help the families of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 400 people Lewis County residents suffer from the disease.
Now, their families can take advantage of the Project Lifesaver Program.
Tags: Alzheimers, Lewis County, peace of mind, Project Lifesaver, Senior Center, tracking bracelet
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April 2nd, 2010
CHESAPEAKE, Va., April 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Project Lifesaver is celebrating World Autism Awareness Day today, April 2, and would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all the families, caregivers, organizations, medical professionals, and individuals that help advocate and care for those with autism. It is truly Project Lifesaver’s honor to support all those in the autism community, and we thank you for all you do — each and every day.
World Autism Awareness Day helps bring attention to this very common cognitive condition — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 1 in every 110 children are diagnosed with autism.
Tags: 1 in 110, autism, Project Lifesaver, wandering, World Autism Awareness Day
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March 24th, 2010
It’s a program designed to bring people who are at risk of wandering, including those with Alzheimer’s, Autism, Down Syndrome and Dementia home safely.
Tuesday evening the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department with Family Connection and the Alzheimer’s Association hosted a safety and wandering training.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, Bryan County, Family Connection, Project Lifesaver
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March 22nd, 2010
Authorities quickly found a missing autistic girl from Fishers Sunday night, thanks in large part to a program started just weeks earlier in Hamilton County.
Project Lifesaver is a free program sponsored by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department that helps track individuals suffering from dementia, autism, Alzheimer’s disease or Down’s syndrome and are at risk for wandering. Each individual in the program wears a wristband containing a locator beacon, which authorities can track if the person goes missing.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Fishers, Hamilton County, Project Lifesaver, wandering
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March 22nd, 2010
Tommy Carter, Chief of Operations of Project Lifesaver, attended the first OHIO PROJECT LIFESAVER CONFERENCE last Thursday, March 18, at the Union County Services Building in Marysville, Ohio.
All current Project Lifesaver (PLS) Ohio members and associate members were invited to attend, as well as supporting groups including the Alzheimer’s Association, Central Ohio Area on Aging, Union County Senior Services, and the Autism Society of Ohio, and the Ohio Attorney General’s office were in attendance.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, Central Ohio Area on Aging, Marysville, Ohio, Project Lifesaver, Tommy Carter
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March 22nd, 2010
Michael Rusch enjoyed recess so much that he sometimes tried to extend it by hiding in the woods behind his school.
After Michael, now 11, got lost, his family decided to join a program the Wood County Sheriff’s Department started in 2006 to help residents keep track of their potentially vulnerable loved ones.
Michael, who has autism, became one of the first participants in Wood County’s Project Lifesaver. It provides signal-emitting bracelets that children and adults at risk of wandering can wear, so loved ones or caregivers can find them should they become lost.
Tags: autism, Autism Impact, Wood County
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March 11th, 2010
Sign the online petition now! Help us spread the word!!! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/485/petition-to-get-project-lifesaver-in-all-communities
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March 11th, 2010
Project Lifesaver, a program designed to help authorities find people who wander because of illness or disability, is accepting participants in Hamilton County.
People who could wander because of medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s or autism can enroll in the program. Participants receive a tracking bracelet so authorities can locate them quickly if they run away.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Bracelets, disability, Hamilton County, Indiana State Police, Project Lifesaver, wander
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March 11th, 2010
ABINGDON, Va. – Detective Billy Nichols waved the multi-pronged antenna gun toward the baseball field to his right and then to the Wednesday afternoon traffic on the left.
He cocked his head to the side as he listened to the static on the headphones. Moments later, the Washington County Sheriff’s officer stepped toward the baseball field, with Sgt. Dreema Pullon close behind, police radio in hand.
Nichols’ antenna gun had picked up the radio-wave ping transmission from the ankle bracelet worn by 18-year-old Down syndrome patient Billy Stiltner, of Abingdon. The search for Stiltner was a training drill for Project Lifesaver, a tracking technology the sheriff’s office offers for free to elderly and mentally challenged residents likely to wander away from home or school.
Tags: Down syndrome, Myrtle Beach, Project Lifesaver, Washington County Sheriff's
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March 11th, 2010
DEERFIELD TWP. – A Rosenhayn man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease was quickly found after he wandered away from his home Tuesday night thanks to a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department program.
That program is Project Lifesaver.
Sheriff’s officers were dispatched to the 78-year-old man’s home at about 11 p.m. on a report he had walked away.
With the help of a Project Lifesaver electronic bracelet, sheriff’s officers quickly located the elderly man in a nearby wooded area.
Tags: Alzheimers, CUmberland County Sheriff's Department, Deerfield Twp, Project Lifesaver, Rosenhayn
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March 9th, 2010
POMEROY — A program geared to protect seniors who have a tendency to wander from home is in operation in Meigs County, a cooperative project between the Area Agency on Aging 8 and local law enforcement agencies.
Cathy Ash, AAA8 program manager and project lifesaver trainer, describes Project Lifesaver as a proven radio technology used to tract those who have wondered away and activate a specially trained search and rescue team.
Clients enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify the local Project Lifesaver Law Enforcement agency that the person is missing, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer’s area and searches with the mobile locator system. According to Ash in over 1,500 searches, there have been no reported serious injuries or deaths and recovery times average less than 30 minutes.
Tags: Alzheimers, Area Agency on Aging, Dementia, Down syndrome, Law Enforcement, Pomeroy, wandering
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March 8th, 2010
March 8, 2010 – Chesapeake, Virginia – The 2010 Aging in America Conference is the largest gathering of a diverse, multidisciplinary community of professionals from the fields of aging, healthcare and education. The conference provides attendees with the opportunity to network with new and old friends, gain insight from voices from the front line, and [...]
Tags: Aging in America, Alzheimer's Foundation of America, Chicago, Chief Gene Saunders, conference, Eric Hall, wandering
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March 8th, 2010
This facebook group was started by Project Lifesaver supporter Emily Malabey, President of the International Autism Coalition. This petition is to connect caregivers, families, medical professionals, law enforcement, political activists and communities to help get Project Lifesaver started in all communities. Please click on the Facebook link and “sign the petition” today!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=344871056147&ref=mf
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March 8th, 2010
County Hopes Program A Lifesaver
By Hicham Raache
Times Record • hraache@swtimes.com
Monday, March 8, 2010 9:35 AM CST
Sebastian County authorities have been working to implement a system that will enable authorities to locate quickly people with mental disorders who wander off.
The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office is obtaining tracking equipment, services and training from Project Lifesaver International, a program that helps law enforcement agencies swiftly locate missing adults and children with disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or autism.
“I started looking at it about a year ago, especially during the time Mr. (Billy) Wheeler came up missing and we had so much difficulty trying to locate him,” Chief Deputy Tommy Young of the Sheriff’s Office said.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, autism, Dementia, Project Lifesaver, Sebastian County Sheriff's Office
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March 5th, 2010
A potentially life-saving project in Northumberland County needs help to get it up and running.
Project Lifesaver uses a tracking device to help find people with special needs who wander away from home. While it’s available in some parts of our area, Project Lifesaver is not offered in Northumberland County and one area mother wants to change that.
Kelsey Person lives near Turbotville with her two-year-old son, Aiden. Recently he was diagnosed with autism and Person said he has special needs.
“Autistics wander and they don’t communicate so you can call and call and he will not respond,” Person explained.
She said Project Lifesaver is designed to help find children and adults with special needs who wander away from home. Bracelets worn by the person with special needs put out a radio signal. If the person wearing it is missing, searchers can find the signal.
Tags: Aiden's Cause, autism, Northumberland County, Project Lifesaver, South Williamsport
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March 5th, 2010
Feb 24, 2010 – Chesapeake, VA – In January and February alone, Project Lifesaver International, a non-profit organization specializing in training public safety agencies on search and rescue programs, equipment, and procedures to help individuals with cognitive conditions that wander, has conducted approximately 30 search and rescue missions for missing individuals participating in their program throughout the United States. This year’s winter season has also proven to be one of extreme winter conditions, as snow has blanketed many states throughout the month of February.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, nearly 60% of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease will wander at some point during the progression of the disease, and many will wander repeatedly. Additionally, according to a survey conducted by the National Autism Association, nearly 92% of parents felt that their autistic child was at risk of wandering. To help combat this problem of wandering, Project Lifesaver International helps train public safety agencies throughout the world to conduct search and rescue efforts by using state-of-the-art technology to find those who wander due to cognitive conditions.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Down syndrome, Project Lifesaver, recent rescues, winter wandering
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March 5th, 2010
The Palm Springs Police Department has received a grant to help provide Project Lifesaver wristbands free of charge to limited income families.
Project Lifesaver, which began 11 years ago, is a non-profit organization established to help locate people who are prone to wander due to Alzheimer’s disease, autism and other cognitive disorders.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, cognitive disorders, Palm Springs Police Department, Riverside County
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March 5th, 2010
Pratt, Kan. —
Two clients in Pratt are currently using monitoring equipment that enables law enforcement personnel to find them quickly when they wander from home.
“They are doing very well with it,” said Jeanette Gaider, speaking for the Pilot Club of Pratt which initiated the program in cooperation with the sheriff’s office.
An endowment from former member Viola Kinzer provides the equipment to anyone in Pratt County at no cost.
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March 5th, 2010
KINGSTON — Deputy Andrea Fister spun in a circle until the radio equipment in her hand began to beep like a metal detector.
“That’s how we know we’re facing the right direction,” she said. “So now we’ll walk this way.”
She walked slowly until the beeps grew louder. Fister readjusted the tracking equipment and changed course slightly to the left, where she found a small transmitter hidden in a bush outside the Ulster County Jail.
“That’s how it’s done!” she said, holding the transmitter up for everyone to see.
Wednesday’s high-tech version of hide-and-seek was only a demonstration, but Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum believes the technology could save people who are prone to wandering. Van Blarcum and others from his department announced Wednesday their enrollment in Project Lifesaver, a national program that helps police voluntarily track wanderers by outfitting them with a small transmitter.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Project Lifesaver, Ulster County
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March 2nd, 2010
A new way to locate people with special needs who may become lost is now in DeKalb County and will soon be put into action.
State Sen. Lowell Barron met Monday with DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris, local mental health advocate Jerry Delk and several officers from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to kick off special training for Project Lifesaver in DeKalb County.
Project Lifesaver will help find lost adults or children in DeKalb County, who may suffer from Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome or other related disorders. The program will be facilitated by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, which will provide those enrolled in the program with a transmitter worn around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal.
Tags: Alzheimers, DeKalb County, Down syndrome
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March 1st, 2010
As daylight spread across upper Cleveland County on the morning of June 13, 2009, county Emergency Management Director Dewey Cook was already hard at work.
Equipped with a radio device, he listened for beeps – clues that would help him find a missing woman who had walked off from home.
In Cleveland County, she is one of about 20 Project Lifesaver participants who range from elderly patients with dementia to a child with autism.
Within six minutes, Cook had tracked the 79-year-old woman, an Alzheimer’s patient, and found her behind a mobile home about a mile from her house.
Nationwide, the project has conducted more than 2,000 successful searches, with a couple of those coming from Cleveland County.
Tags: Alzheimers, Cleveland County, Dementia, PLI, Project Lifesaver
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March 1st, 2010
On Feb. 3 at 11:32 a.m., the New Martinsville Police Department Dispatch Center received a complaint of a missing person. The person was a client of Wetzel County Project Lifesaver that is coordinated by Sgt. Dave Byers of the NMPD.
The complainant advised that her 84-year-old husband had gone to the pharmacy and bank at 9:30 a.m. and had not returned. Since the missing person was driving a vehicle, the department immediately took information to enter the missing person into NCIC. After obtaining the information that was needed to start the search Sgt. Byers left NMPD with a receiver. “We had notified Ptl. F. Estep of NMPD and Tyler County Project Lifesaver,” said Byers. “Tom Cooper of Tyler County was responding with John Bennett, Helen Bennett, and Lisa Jackson.”
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Electronic Search Specialist, Wetzel County Project Lifesaver
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March 1st, 2010
There’s nothing scarier than when a child goes missing, and the dread is compounded when that child has special needs.
A potential grant that has been applied for by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office could go a long way toward easing parents’ fears.
Sheriff Greg Seeley updated the Greene County Legislature about a grant he is hoping for that would pay for the county to participate in a program dubbed Project Lifesaver, which provides electronic bracelets that can track a child, or adult, who has gone missing.
Tags: autism, Greene County Sheriff, PLI, Project Lifesaver
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March 1st, 2010
It was an inquiry from the Director of the Salem County Office of the Disabled that first alerted me to an important program in Cape May County. She called to ask if Project Lifesaver was active in our area. As I have since learned, this program is operating in all 21 counties of New Jersey, making our state (to its great credit) totally subscribed to the Project. The program operates through the Sheriff’s Office in each community.
Project Lifesaver is a non-profit international organization, based in Chesapeake, Virginia, whose mission is to protect patients who wander due to conditions such as Alzheimer’s and autism.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, PLI, Project Lifesaver, Salem County Office
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Press Releases
Two Faces of Alzheimer’s
Aug. 29–BOONEVILLE — Some 5.3 million Americans have Alzheimer’s — a brain-damaging disease that gradually robs its victims of mental and physical acuity.
Unless dramatic medical breakthroughs provide cures or preventives, 7.7 million are expected to have the disease by 2030, when all baby boomers will be at least 66 years old.
Alzheimer’s — the most common of several related dementias — costs the nation an estimated $172 billion each year, and it is the seventh-leading cause of death for Americans — the fourth for those over age 65.
Tags: Alzheimers, Booneville, Dementia, University of Mississippi
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Project Lifesaver provides quick search and rescue for those at risk of wandering
NORFOLK – Recent searches for two missing Alzheimer’s patients in Virginia Beach show just how hard it can be to track down a missing loved one.
Mary Butts disappeared from her home last month on the hottest day of the year. She was missing for five days before someone found her, dehydrated and sunburned, lying in a ditch.
Just yesterday, 63-year-old James Brandon vanished from his Virginia Beach apartment. He was found in Portsmouth overnight.
Tags: Alzheimers, Project Lifesaver, receiver, transmitter, Virginia Beach
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Myrtle Beach Police and Firefighters Raise Awareness for Project Lifesaver
Myrtle Beach firefighters battled city police officers today on the diamond. The annual baseball game is known as the Guns and Hoses event.
Tags: autistic children, baseball game, Guns and Hoses, Myrtle Beach, Project Lifesaver, transmitters, wander off
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Missing Alzheimer’s patient home, will accessorize for safety
VIRGINIA BEACH — “Physically, she’s strong. She’s very fatigued and tired,” says Terry Allred of her mother, Eileen Butts. “As far as being able to walk, you know, she’s doing fine with that.”
79-year-old Butts returned to her home in King’s Grant Thursday after spending several days in the hospital.
The Alzheimer’s patient wandered off from her house July 25 looking for flowers. That search triggered another one when Butts never returned.
Tags: Alzheimer's patient, autism, Butts, Dementia, Down syndrome, Project Lifesaver, Virginia Beach
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AWAARE Formed to Prevent Wandering-Related Deaths in Autism Community
CARY, N.C., July 7 –
Six national autism groups join forces to address risks associated with wandering from safe environments
CARY, N.C., July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A new coalition of six national autism non-profit organizations, Autism Wandering Awareness Alerts Response Education (AWAARE), launched its website today( www.awaare.org ) in a collaborative effort to prevent wandering-related injuries and deaths, apparently on the rise in the autism community. Coalition member organizations are AutismOne, Autism Speaks, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, the HollyRod Foundation, the National Autism Association (NAA), and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA.)
Tags: autism, Autism Safety Project, Autism Speaks, AutismOne, AWAARE, Doug Flutie Jr Foundation for Autism, HollyRod Foundation, National Autism Association, Talk About Curing Autism
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Project Lifesaver Helps Families of Autistic Children
The case of a 13-year-old autistic boy wandering from home highlights the need for Project Lifesaver.
The program’s Indianapolis coordinator, Wayne Township Fire Captain Michael Pruitt, appeared on Indy’s Morning News on 93 WIBC Tuesday.
Tags: autism, autistic, Indianapolis, Project Lifesaver, transmitter, wandering
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Statement From CEO – Regarding HR 908
Gene Saunders
President and Chief Executive Officer
Project Lifesaver International
Project Lifesaver International, Inc., www.projectlifesaver.org, thanks the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for voting 14 to 5 in favor of H.R. 908, a bill to reauthorize the Missing Alzheimer’s Disease Patient Alert Program. We especially thank Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) for his leadership and support of this Department [...]
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‘Project Lifesaver’ lives up to its name
Angela Davis and her 6-year-old daughter Chloe use the city of Cape Coral’s Project Lifesaver bracelet.
By TIFFANY REPECKI, trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
After Aldo Bertolini was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2000, it took about four years before the Cape Coral man began to walk off due to the disease.
“By 2004, he started to wander a little bit,” his wife, Dolores Bertolini, said.
Later that year, while the couple was attending a parade for Relay for Life, Dolores turned to her husband at one point and discovered Aldo was nowhere to be seen. He had wandered away. It took more than an hour to locate him.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Cape Coral, Cape Coral Community Foundation, Down syndrome, peace of mind, wristband
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Exhibit features photos taken by autistic children
May 20, 2010 (HINSDALE, Ill.) (WLS) — A special photo exhibit featuring art created by autistic children is on display in Hinsdale.
The exhibit, Kids with Cameras, had the children capture the world the way they see it.
Tags: Hinsdale, photo exhibit
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Brunswick: Tracking device protects Alzheimer’s patients, autistic
BRUNSWICK: An electronic tracking device has a 100 percent success rate in locating people who have wandered off, including Alzheimer’s patients, and children and young adults who have autism.
Brunswick is one of only a handful of cities in Ohio using the new technology. It is provided free to residents who request it to protect a family member who might be prone to wandering away.
Tags: autism, Brunswick, Ohio, peace of mind, running, technology, transmitter, wandering, WKYC
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New Equipment Helps Law Enforcement Locate Missing People
The Panama City Police Department has purchased Project Lifesaver equipment using grant money. The set of equipment can track anyone who is a participant in the program if they are wearing the transmitter. The transmitter can be worn as a bracelet, anklet or it can be attached to clothing.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Panama City, Project Lifesaver, transmitter, wandering
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Clarkstown Unveils ‘Project Lifesaver’ Today
Supervisor Alex Gromack and Councilman George Hoehmann are set to announce today the launch of Clarkstown’s Project Lifesaver, a public safety program designed to use technology in assisting those who care for individuals with cognitive disabilities such as Alzheimer’s disease, Autism and Downs Syndrome who become missing due to wandering.
The Project Lifesaver program places personalized radio transmitters on identified persons who may wander away from the safety of their homes. These transmitters assist caregivers and local emergency agencies in locating those individuals.
Town officials and police officers will be demonstrating how the program works today.
Hoehmann proposed creating Project Lifesaver for Clarkstown when he joined the Town Boad in 2009. The program is offered across the country and places a bracelet that pulsates an electronic signal that if a person who has a history of wandering or eloping can be tracked.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, caregivers, Clarkstown, Down syndrome, local emergency agencies, Project Lifesaver, Silver Alert
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Project Lifesaver Offers Peace of Mind
Tracking devices used by some with dementia also beneficial for some children.
By KIM KILBRIDE Tribune Staff Writer
Jenna Senger sports a little plastic bracelet these days that she and her family refer to as her watch. The story behind how the 5-year-old from Millersburg ended up with the Project Lifesaver device that would help police and trained volunteers track her should she ever run away is one that makes her mom Julie emotional to tell.One day last fall, Jenna — who has Down syndrome — and her mom were playing with the family’s dogs in their fenced-in backyard when the phone rang.
Tags: Dementia, Down syndrome, Elkhart County, Jenna Senger, Mishawaka Police Department, Project Lifesaver, TRIAD
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Project Lifesaver Launches “Lifesaver Angels”
New “Lifesaver Angels” program enables an individual, business, or corporation to “adopt” a country, agency, or participant who wants to join Project Lifesaver
May 13, 2010 – Chesapeake, Virginia – In the wake of a high-profile search and rescue operation of an 11-year old girl with Asperger’s syndrome in a swampy, alligator-infested area in Florida, Project Lifesaver was inundated with requests from parents who want to protect their children from wandering.
In an effort to assist families and caregivers with their loved ones who wander, Project Lifesaver is launching a new “Lifesaver Angels” program which enables an individual, business, or corporation to “adopt” a participant, agency, or even a country who wants to participate in Project Lifesaver, but who could not, under normal circumstances, afford the program on their own.
Tags: adopt, agency, Alzheimers, autism, child, Down syndrome, family, Lifesaver Angels, Project Lifesaver
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Mrs. Virginia International Visits Project Lifesaver Headquarters
On Friday, Mrs. Virginia International, Heather Thompson, visited Project Lifesaver Headquarters.
When her oldest son was 5, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with Autism – making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. As Heather [...]
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More Wander Off in Fog of Age – New York Times
By KIRK JOHNSON
ASHBURN, Va. — For generations, the prototypical search-and-rescue case in America was Timmy in the well, with Lassie barking insistently to summon help. Lost children and adolescents — from the woods to the mall — generally outnumbered all others.
But last year for the first time, another type of search crossed into first place here in Virginia, marking a profound demographic shift that public safety officials say will increasingly define the future as the nation ages: wandering, confused dementia patients like Freda Machett.
Tags: Alzheimers, Dementia, Division of Emergency Management, fog of age, Mr. Schaefer, Project Lifesaver, Virginia Dept of Criminal Justice Services
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National Program Helps Save Teen’s Life
Great RESCUE! http://www.kptv.com/video/23305080/index.html
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Missing Sherwood-area teen located through unique tracking system
By Ray Pitz
The Sherwood Gazette, Apr 28, 2010
A radio tracking system designed to find those who wonder away from home more than proved itself on Sunday, helping to locate a developmentally disabled Sherwood youth who disappeared on his bike.
Nicolas Oldenstadt was outside his home shortly after 7 p.m. when he vanished. Frantic, his mother, Kathy Oldenstadt, called 9-1-1 about 15 minutes after she was unable to locate her 18-year-old.
“I had no idea what direction he went,” said Oldenstadt. “He’s very curious and always wants to be outside running.”
He’s very quick as well, Oldenstadt pointed out. Her biggest fear was that he headed from their LaBrousse Road home to Highway 99w.
The one saving grace was that he was wearing a Project Lifesaver bracelet, which allows tracking via hand-held antennas.
A short time later, no less than a Washington County sheriff’s deputy, a Sherwood and King City police officer and a county search and rescue team representative responded to her home, carrying with them no fewer than three different antennas to help locate the teen.
For a worried Oldenstadt, the time between the time her son disappeared and the time he was discovered was something of a blur.
Tags: bracelet, Elder Safe Program, Project Lifesaver, Sherwood, Washington County
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Finding the lost: Project Lifesaver provides tracking bracelets to help find people
Posted: Saturday, April 17, 2010 6:00 am | Updated: 11:56 pm, Fri Apr 16, 2010.
BY RANDY BURNS rburns@theitem.com
Three weeks ago, WynnDee DuRant returned home with her 7-year-old daughter, Kelli, after picking her up from school.
She left Kelli, who has autism, at the computer while she went to the bathroom.
But Kelli was nowhere to be found when the mother got back.
Tags: Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome, Kelli, Pilot Club, Project Lifesaver, Sumter County Sheriff's Office, traumatic brain injuries
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Project Lifesaver International Selected as a Recipient of Today’s Caregiver Magazine’s 2010 Caregiver Friendly ® Awards
April 22, 2010, Chesapeake, VA – Today’s Caregiver, the first national magazine for all family and professional caregivers, as well as caregiver.com, announced the 2010 Caregiver Friendly® Award recipients today. The Caregiver Friendly® Awards are designed to celebrate products, services, books and media created with the needs of caregivers in mind.
Project Lifesaver International (PLI) has been awarded a 2010 Caregiver Friendly Award in the service category. “The average caregiver is responsible for over $40,000 in health related expenditures each year, either in personal or directed funds,” says Gary Barg, Today’s Caregiver magazine’s Editor-in-Chief. “This award is designed to help family caregivers recognize and reward those organizations who will care for them in as committed a manner as they care for their loved ones.”
Tags: Caregiver Friendly Award, Fearless Caregiver conference, Ft. Lauderdale, Project Lifesaver
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‘Project Lifesaver’ Helps Find Lost Children
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Since 11-year-old Nadia Bloom wandered off and got lost in the woods near her home, many parents have been asking, how they can keep their children from getting in a similar situation?
Deputies showed WFTV a device called Project Lifesaver that can help them find lost kids in just minutes.
“It’s the scariest feeling you’ll ever have,” parent Denny Mulholland said.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Nadia Bloom, Project Lifesaver, WFTV
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Project Lifesaver – Doing Just That
Great News Coverage From Quincy, Illinois! HERE.
Tags: autism, Illinois, Project Lifesaver, Quincy
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Project Lifesaver CEO, Gene Saunders, Nominated for Presidential Citizen’s Medal
April 14, 2010 – Chesapeake, VA – Earlier this year, President Barack Obama launched a public nomination process for the Presidential Citizen’s Medal, the nation’s second highest civilian award. According to the official release, for over 40 years, the Presidential Citizen’s Medal has recognized Americans who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” Past recipients have included some of America’s most respected public figures, including Elizabeth Taylor, Muhammad Ali and others.
Following this public announcement, the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office in Lynchburg, Virginia, decided to nominate Chief Gene Saunders of Project Lifesaver International, who they felt was more than deserving of the award.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, exemplary deeds of service, Lynchburg Sheriff's Office, President Barack Obama, Presidential Citizen's Medal, Project Lifesaver
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Transmitter Helps Parents Keep Track Of Daughter With Autism
ROYAL PALM BEACH, FLA. – On Friday, a girl with Asperger’s syndrome disappeared into the woods near her Winter Springs home. Nadia Bloom, 11, was found alive Tuesday after an exhaustive search involving hundreds of people.
One family in Royal Palm Beach said a piece of technology gives them comfort that something like that is less likely to happen to their child.
Tags: Asperger's syndrome, Project Lifesaver, Royal Palm Beach, transmitter
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Project Lifesaver Helps Track Missing People
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — Kari White, a mother to two autistic daughters, anxiously watched the disappearance and search for Nadia Bloom unfold.
That’s because her daughter Ashley has wandered off before.
“It was the most horrible thing I ever felt. You’re breathless you can’t catch your breath,” said White, who now has a safeguard against her children wandering off.
White and thousands of other families across the nation have turned to a Project Lifesaver, a product designed to locate missing people with mental illnesses, autism, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Lake County, Project Lifesaver
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Lewis County Senior Center Offers Help with Alzheimer’s Patients
WESTON — The Lewis County Sheriff’s Department is working with the local Senior Center to help the families of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
More than 400 people Lewis County residents suffer from the disease.
Now, their families can take advantage of the Project Lifesaver Program.
Tags: Alzheimers, Lewis County, peace of mind, Project Lifesaver, Senior Center, tracking bracelet
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Celebrating April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day
CHESAPEAKE, Va., April 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Project Lifesaver is celebrating World Autism Awareness Day today, April 2, and would like to take this opportunity to recognize and thank all the families, caregivers, organizations, medical professionals, and individuals that help advocate and care for those with autism. It is truly Project Lifesaver’s honor to support all those in the autism community, and we thank you for all you do — each and every day.
World Autism Awareness Day helps bring attention to this very common cognitive condition — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 1 in every 110 children are diagnosed with autism.
Tags: 1 in 110, autism, Project Lifesaver, wandering, World Autism Awareness Day
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Bryan County Joins Project Lifesaver
It’s a program designed to bring people who are at risk of wandering, including those with Alzheimer’s, Autism, Down Syndrome and Dementia home safely.
Tuesday evening the Bryan County Sheriff’s Department with Family Connection and the Alzheimer’s Association hosted a safety and wandering training.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, Bryan County, Family Connection, Project Lifesaver
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New program helps Fishers authorities find missing girl
Authorities quickly found a missing autistic girl from Fishers Sunday night, thanks in large part to a program started just weeks earlier in Hamilton County.
Project Lifesaver is a free program sponsored by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department that helps track individuals suffering from dementia, autism, Alzheimer’s disease or Down’s syndrome and are at risk for wandering. Each individual in the program wears a wristband containing a locator beacon, which authorities can track if the person goes missing.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Fishers, Hamilton County, Project Lifesaver, wandering
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First Ohio Project Lifesaver Conference – A SUCCESS!
Tommy Carter, Chief of Operations of Project Lifesaver, attended the first OHIO PROJECT LIFESAVER CONFERENCE last Thursday, March 18, at the Union County Services Building in Marysville, Ohio.
All current Project Lifesaver (PLS) Ohio members and associate members were invited to attend, as well as supporting groups including the Alzheimer’s Association, Central Ohio Area on Aging, Union County Senior Services, and the Autism Society of Ohio, and the Ohio Attorney General’s office were in attendance.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, Central Ohio Area on Aging, Marysville, Ohio, Project Lifesaver, Tommy Carter
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Project Lifesaver gives ‘peace of mind’
Michael Rusch enjoyed recess so much that he sometimes tried to extend it by hiding in the woods behind his school.
After Michael, now 11, got lost, his family decided to join a program the Wood County Sheriff’s Department started in 2006 to help residents keep track of their potentially vulnerable loved ones.
Michael, who has autism, became one of the first participants in Wood County’s Project Lifesaver. It provides signal-emitting bracelets that children and adults at risk of wandering can wear, so loved ones or caregivers can find them should they become lost.
Tags: autism, Autism Impact, Wood County
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Sign the Online Petition – Make Your Voice Heard!
Sign the online petition now! Help us spread the word!!! http://www.thepetitionsite.com/485/petition-to-get-project-lifesaver-in-all-communities
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Hamilton County agencies join Project Lifesaver
Project Lifesaver, a program designed to help authorities find people who wander because of illness or disability, is accepting participants in Hamilton County.
People who could wander because of medical conditions such as Alzheimer’s or autism can enroll in the program. Participants receive a tracking bracelet so authorities can locate them quickly if they run away.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Bracelets, disability, Hamilton County, Indiana State Police, Project Lifesaver, wander
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Washington County authorities test Project Lifesaver
ABINGDON, Va. – Detective Billy Nichols waved the multi-pronged antenna gun toward the baseball field to his right and then to the Wednesday afternoon traffic on the left.
He cocked his head to the side as he listened to the static on the headphones. Moments later, the Washington County Sheriff’s officer stepped toward the baseball field, with Sgt. Dreema Pullon close behind, police radio in hand.
Nichols’ antenna gun had picked up the radio-wave ping transmission from the ankle bracelet worn by 18-year-old Down syndrome patient Billy Stiltner, of Abingdon. The search for Stiltner was a training drill for Project Lifesaver, a tracking technology the sheriff’s office offers for free to elderly and mentally challenged residents likely to wander away from home or school.
Tags: Down syndrome, Myrtle Beach, Project Lifesaver, Washington County Sheriff's
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Wandering Alzheimer’s patient found
DEERFIELD TWP. – A Rosenhayn man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease was quickly found after he wandered away from his home Tuesday night thanks to a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department program.
That program is Project Lifesaver.
Sheriff’s officers were dispatched to the 78-year-old man’s home at about 11 p.m. on a report he had walked away.
With the help of a Project Lifesaver electronic bracelet, sheriff’s officers quickly located the elderly man in a nearby wooded area.
Tags: Alzheimers, CUmberland County Sheriff's Department, Deerfield Twp, Project Lifesaver, Rosenhayn
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Project Lifesaver provides protection
POMEROY — A program geared to protect seniors who have a tendency to wander from home is in operation in Meigs County, a cooperative project between the Area Agency on Aging 8 and local law enforcement agencies.
Cathy Ash, AAA8 program manager and project lifesaver trainer, describes Project Lifesaver as a proven radio technology used to tract those who have wondered away and activate a specially trained search and rescue team.
Clients enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a personalized wristband that emits a tracking signal. When caregivers notify the local Project Lifesaver Law Enforcement agency that the person is missing, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer’s area and searches with the mobile locator system. According to Ash in over 1,500 searches, there have been no reported serious injuries or deaths and recovery times average less than 30 minutes.
Tags: Alzheimers, Area Agency on Aging, Dementia, Down syndrome, Law Enforcement, Pomeroy, wandering
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Chief Saunders To Speak on Wandering Behaviors & Technology Strategies at Aging in America Conference in Chicago Next Week
March 8, 2010 – Chesapeake, Virginia – The 2010 Aging in America Conference is the largest gathering of a diverse, multidisciplinary community of professionals from the fields of aging, healthcare and education. The conference provides attendees with the opportunity to network with new and old friends, gain insight from voices from the front line, and [...]
Tags: Aging in America, Alzheimer's Foundation of America, Chicago, Chief Gene Saunders, conference, Eric Hall, wandering
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Sign the Petition to Get Project Lifesaver in all Communities!
This facebook group was started by Project Lifesaver supporter Emily Malabey, President of the International Autism Coalition. This petition is to connect caregivers, families, medical professionals, law enforcement, political activists and communities to help get Project Lifesaver started in all communities. Please click on the Facebook link and “sign the petition” today!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=344871056147&ref=mf
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County Hopes Program A Lifesaver
County Hopes Program A Lifesaver
By Hicham Raache
Times Record • hraache@swtimes.com
Monday, March 8, 2010 9:35 AM CST
Sebastian County authorities have been working to implement a system that will enable authorities to locate quickly people with mental disorders who wander off.
The Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office is obtaining tracking equipment, services and training from Project Lifesaver International, a program that helps law enforcement agencies swiftly locate missing adults and children with disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or autism.
“I started looking at it about a year ago, especially during the time Mr. (Billy) Wheeler came up missing and we had so much difficulty trying to locate him,” Chief Deputy Tommy Young of the Sheriff’s Office said.
Tags: Alzheimer's Association, autism, Dementia, Project Lifesaver, Sebastian County Sheriff's Office
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Help Northumberland County Start Project Lifesaver
A potentially life-saving project in Northumberland County needs help to get it up and running.
Project Lifesaver uses a tracking device to help find people with special needs who wander away from home. While it’s available in some parts of our area, Project Lifesaver is not offered in Northumberland County and one area mother wants to change that.
Kelsey Person lives near Turbotville with her two-year-old son, Aiden. Recently he was diagnosed with autism and Person said he has special needs.
“Autistics wander and they don’t communicate so you can call and call and he will not respond,” Person explained.
She said Project Lifesaver is designed to help find children and adults with special needs who wander away from home. Bracelets worn by the person with special needs put out a radio signal. If the person wearing it is missing, searchers can find the signal.
Tags: Aiden's Cause, autism, Northumberland County, Project Lifesaver, South Williamsport
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The Importance of Project Lifesaver, Especially During the Winter Months
Feb 24, 2010 – Chesapeake, VA – In January and February alone, Project Lifesaver International, a non-profit organization specializing in training public safety agencies on search and rescue programs, equipment, and procedures to help individuals with cognitive conditions that wander, has conducted approximately 30 search and rescue missions for missing individuals participating in their program throughout the United States. This year’s winter season has also proven to be one of extreme winter conditions, as snow has blanketed many states throughout the month of February.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, nearly 60% of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease will wander at some point during the progression of the disease, and many will wander repeatedly. Additionally, according to a survey conducted by the National Autism Association, nearly 92% of parents felt that their autistic child was at risk of wandering. To help combat this problem of wandering, Project Lifesaver International helps train public safety agencies throughout the world to conduct search and rescue efforts by using state-of-the-art technology to find those who wander due to cognitive conditions.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Down syndrome, Project Lifesaver, recent rescues, winter wandering
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Palm Springs Police Offers Free “Project Lifesaver” Device
The Palm Springs Police Department has received a grant to help provide Project Lifesaver wristbands free of charge to limited income families.
Project Lifesaver, which began 11 years ago, is a non-profit organization established to help locate people who are prone to wander due to Alzheimer’s disease, autism and other cognitive disorders.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, cognitive disorders, Palm Springs Police Department, Riverside County
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Project Lifesaver benefits two clients, more are needed
Pratt, Kan. —
Two clients in Pratt are currently using monitoring equipment that enables law enforcement personnel to find them quickly when they wander from home.
“They are doing very well with it,” said Jeanette Gaider, speaking for the Pilot Club of Pratt which initiated the program in cooperation with the sheriff’s office.
An endowment from former member Viola Kinzer provides the equipment to anyone in Pratt County at no cost.
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Ulster police’s tracking device helps recover those who wander
KINGSTON — Deputy Andrea Fister spun in a circle until the radio equipment in her hand began to beep like a metal detector.
“That’s how we know we’re facing the right direction,” she said. “So now we’ll walk this way.”
She walked slowly until the beeps grew louder. Fister readjusted the tracking equipment and changed course slightly to the left, where she found a small transmitter hidden in a bush outside the Ulster County Jail.
“That’s how it’s done!” she said, holding the transmitter up for everyone to see.
Wednesday’s high-tech version of hide-and-seek was only a demonstration, but Sheriff Paul Van Blarcum believes the technology could save people who are prone to wandering. Van Blarcum and others from his department announced Wednesday their enrollment in Project Lifesaver, a national program that helps police voluntarily track wanderers by outfitting them with a small transmitter.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Project Lifesaver, Ulster County
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Project Lifesaver Comes to DeKalb County
A new way to locate people with special needs who may become lost is now in DeKalb County and will soon be put into action.
State Sen. Lowell Barron met Monday with DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris, local mental health advocate Jerry Delk and several officers from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department to kick off special training for Project Lifesaver in DeKalb County.
Project Lifesaver will help find lost adults or children in DeKalb County, who may suffer from Alzheimer’s, Down syndrome or other related disorders. The program will be facilitated by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, which will provide those enrolled in the program with a transmitter worn around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal.
Tags: Alzheimers, DeKalb County, Down syndrome
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Project aims to keep dementia, autism patients safe
As daylight spread across upper Cleveland County on the morning of June 13, 2009, county Emergency Management Director Dewey Cook was already hard at work.
Equipped with a radio device, he listened for beeps – clues that would help him find a missing woman who had walked off from home.
In Cleveland County, she is one of about 20 Project Lifesaver participants who range from elderly patients with dementia to a child with autism.
Within six minutes, Cook had tracked the 79-year-old woman, an Alzheimer’s patient, and found her behind a mobile home about a mile from her house.
Nationwide, the project has conducted more than 2,000 successful searches, with a couple of those coming from Cleveland County.
Tags: Alzheimers, Cleveland County, Dementia, PLI, Project Lifesaver
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Missing Person Found In Minutes
On Feb. 3 at 11:32 a.m., the New Martinsville Police Department Dispatch Center received a complaint of a missing person. The person was a client of Wetzel County Project Lifesaver that is coordinated by Sgt. Dave Byers of the NMPD.
The complainant advised that her 84-year-old husband had gone to the pharmacy and bank at 9:30 a.m. and had not returned. Since the missing person was driving a vehicle, the department immediately took information to enter the missing person into NCIC. After obtaining the information that was needed to start the search Sgt. Byers left NMPD with a receiver. “We had notified Ptl. F. Estep of NMPD and Tyler County Project Lifesaver,” said Byers. “Tom Cooper of Tyler County was responding with John Bennett, Helen Bennett, and Lisa Jackson.”
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, Electronic Search Specialist, Wetzel County Project Lifesaver
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Project could be a lifesaver
There’s nothing scarier than when a child goes missing, and the dread is compounded when that child has special needs.
A potential grant that has been applied for by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office could go a long way toward easing parents’ fears.
Sheriff Greg Seeley updated the Greene County Legislature about a grant he is hoping for that would pay for the county to participate in a program dubbed Project Lifesaver, which provides electronic bracelets that can track a child, or adult, who has gone missing.
Tags: autism, Greene County Sheriff, PLI, Project Lifesaver
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Does Someone You Love Need Project Lifesaver?
It was an inquiry from the Director of the Salem County Office of the Disabled that first alerted me to an important program in Cape May County. She called to ask if Project Lifesaver was active in our area. As I have since learned, this program is operating in all 21 counties of New Jersey, making our state (to its great credit) totally subscribed to the Project. The program operates through the Sheriff’s Office in each community.
Project Lifesaver is a non-profit international organization, based in Chesapeake, Virginia, whose mission is to protect patients who wander due to conditions such as Alzheimer’s and autism.
Tags: Alzheimers, autism, PLI, Project Lifesaver, Salem County Office
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