Sheriff’s Office offers Project Lifesaver
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Sheriff’s Office offers Project Lifesaver
By Crystal Glenn
The Coosa County Sheriff’s Office is maintaining its joint effort with a national non-profit program to offer a life-saving device to the residents of the county.
Project Lifesaver is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides law enforcement, fire and rescue and caregivers with a program to protect, and when necessary, locate individuals with cognitive disabilities.
The program is set up in a way that combines technology, innovative search and rescue services and courses that educate first responders about cognitive conditions.
Through the program, departments such as the Sheriff’s Office can offer the public a wearable device that can be tracked using GPS. This provides caregivers with peace of mind, knowing that if someone they love were to wander or go missing they could easily be located.
When the Sheriff’s Office first decided to implement this program it was provided training on the use of the equipment, the implementation of strategic methods of use and courses that provide the law enforcement officers with a basic understanding of cognitive issues and the behaviors associated with them.
Project Lifesaver has been highly successful across the nation. It is estimated that more than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s and as many as 16 million people will have it by the year 2050; nearly one in every three seniors will have a form of dementia by mid-century.
Caregivers of people with cognitive disabilities such as Alzheimer’s or dementia can contact the Sheriff’s Office to sign up their loved one. Upon signing up they will be provided with a bracelet that can be worn and tracked in the event that the one they care about wanders off or gets lost.
The Coosa County Sheriff’s Office can be reached by calling 256-377-4922. More information about the Project Lifesaver program can be found by visiting their website at www.projectlifesaver.org.
The wearable GPS locator can assist agencies in locating a loved one within minutes of them being reported missing. Photo submitted by Project Lifesaver