King County Project Lifesaver

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King County is one of 19 counties in Washington State to join the program, which was started in 1999 in Virginia. Agencies using Project Lifesaver have reduced search time dramatically. Searches that lasted hours and utilized dozens of search and rescue personnel are now accomplished in under an hour by small specialized teams, and fatalities have been reduced significantly.

The Alzheimer’ s Association of Western Washington endorses and supports Project Lifesaver. We recognize that this new technology will provide an important safety net for those affected by Alzheimer’ s disease or related dementias in our community.

Being a personal caregiver for someone else is a difficult task; the responsibility is enormous and can be draining. The situation can be dramatically intensified when the person that is being cared for begins to wander away. The caregiver is thrust into a situation where they cannot let their guard down for a minute.

The tendency to wander is prevalent among people that are suffering from Alzheimer’ s disease and other forms of dementia. People with Down Syndrome, Autism, Prader-Willi or a traumatic brain injury also exhibit this tendency. Reasoning, judgment, the ability to communicate, and other behaviors can be affected by these conditions. It is estimated that 59% of people with Alzheimer’ s disease will wander and become lost. Many victims will wander repeatedly.

The dangers to the wanderer are numerous. If an elderly Alzheimer’ s patient is left outside for more than 24 hours their chance of survival drops to 50% due to the risk of exposure. A lost person with Alzheimer’ s or a related disease or injury represents a critical medical emergency. The wanderer’ s inability or unwillingness to communicate has frustrated caregivers and searchers alike. Traditional search methods rely heavily on the ability of the lost person to respond to searchers when they call. When this ability doesn’ t exist or the person elects not to respond, search efforts are time consuming and can take a tragic turn.

Project Lifesaver is designed to help us find these vulnerable citizens quickly and safely.