The opportunity to enjoy life to the fullest is what living in an assisted living is all about. Residents are able and encouraged to leave the building and enjoy the community they live in. Take a walk in the neighborhood. Jump on a bus and go to into town. Or, get in their car and head to the pool. Anytime - day or night - residents have the right to leave the building. Sometimes this can be a scary thought when a resident or your loved one has memory loss and may not remember how to get home.
We are fortunate that the Clallam County Sheriff Department participates in the Project Lifesaver Program. Per the sheriff’s website, Project Lifesaver is “designed to track and rescue individuals with cognitive conditions who tend to wander, the service answers a critical need for protecting people at risk for wandering, including those with Alzheimer’s, Autism, Down Syndrome and Dementia.”
Specifically, Project Lifesaver provides a tracking monitor to be worn on the person (on the ankle or wrist) that has an individual tracking signal. In the event of a person wearing a tracker goes missing, the agency is notified and a trained team responds. A search that used to take hours or even days has been reduced significantly. Many of the missing persons are found inside 30 minutes – usually within a few miles from home.
At St. Andrew’s Place we are very thankful for this service! Several former and current residents have been enrolled in the Project Lifesaver. This program allows people to continue living in assisted living or their homes who otherwise would have to be placed in a secured memory community. To verify tracking monitors are working correctly, once a month representatives of the Port Angeles Sherriff’s station visits the participant to check the equipment and change batteries.
Having memory issues does not mean the end of the freedom to take a stroll. Using Project Lifesaver provides peace of mind to the residents, families, and staff of St. Andrew’s Place that if something were to happen, the resident can be found quickly.
For more information on Clallam County’s Project Lifesaver, please visit their website:
http://www.clallam.net/sheriff/projectlifesaver.html