'Silver Alert' registries help locate missing people with dementia
Cape Cod Times (Hyannis, MA)Oct 27, 2014
Now two
The registries contain identifying information such as date of birth, medical condition and caretaker phone number for people with cognitive issues. The information is kept on file with local police departments to be used in case a person is found wandering or family members report someone missing, officials said.
The registries also include a recent photo, physical description of the person and description of the person's favorite places to visit, said
Officials said the information will allow police to start the search as soon as possible and make it easier for them to identify cognitively impaired people they find.
"Very few families expect a family member to go missing until it happens for the first time," Thompson said in an email. But "over 60 percent of people with Alzheimer's or a related disorder will wander."
And some of those people won't know how to get home, said
"One out of six people with dementia will get lost," she said.
And getting lost can be a scary and dangerous experience for someone with a cognitive impairment -- as well as terrifying for family members.
In
"Someone with dementia might try to go to their old house," said
Having the information at hand allows police to condense a 10-minute conversation with a panicked family member into a 30-second call when someone with a cognitive impairment goes missing, Gannon said.
"It allows law enforcement to react immediately," Antkowiak said.
"The sooner they begin the search, the better the outcome will be," said Sue Temper, assistant secretary for programs for the state
The police departments in
Towns participating in the state Silver Alert pilot project are looking for ways to publicize these registration programs and increase public participation -- which is voluntary -- as well as to standardize the forms and determine what information is most useful, officials said.
The communities will share information about what worked best to encourage families to sign up, Antkowiak said.
In addition to
The pilot also calls for police departments to team up with their towns' councils on aging to promote the registries and educate the public about Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, officials said.
For the first time, people looking to register their loved ones in
"We just joined (the police) as partners," said
In
Towns receive no funding for participating in Silver Alert pilot projects, officials said.
"We call it a pilot," Temper said. "But we really hope to get it to every community across the state."
The next phase of the Silver Alert program will be to provide training for police officers and dispatchers on Alzheimer's disease and dementia and how to identify people afflicted with the disorders, Antkowiak said
In the meantime,
"If the police already have a profile of the missing person it makes their job much easier," Wild said. He said he doesn't know how many towns already have their own registries, but said, "all Cape towns will probably sign on to it sooner or later."
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