The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has launched a new program to help safely locate residents with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia who may wander from a safe location.
The sheriff’s office was awarded federal grant money through the Bureau of Justice Administration to pilot the new DREAM (Dementia Recovery, Education, and Management) program. It will provide Alzheimer’s and dementia patients with a free GPS-enabled device.
Participants will have the option of choosing between two different GPS devices, depending on the preference and unique needs of the person who will be wearing it. One is a GPS watch that is being offered through Clairvoyant/Theroacare and the other is a small attachable GPS device being offered by Jiobit. Both devices connect to a cell phone application to help caregivers and family members monitor the location of their loved ones.
The application allows caregivers to see their loved one’s location in real time and also provides alerts to their phone if a participant leaves a safe location. Family members or caretakers will have the ability to locate them and return them safely home, usually without the involvement of law enforcement. But if assistance from law enforcement is needed, dispatchers will have the participant’s location to assist in his or her safe return.
The goal of the program is to decrease the number of people who wander from a safe location and require law enforcement to find them and bring them home. This program gives the person with Alzheimer’s or dementia increased independence and helps their family keep their loved ones safe.
The hope is that through this program, caregivers will be quickly notified when a person wanders and can assist them with returning home, which will result in a lower number of missing person calls involving people with Alzheimer’s or dementia in the local community. The program also is being offered for children diagnosed with autism who also may be prone to wandering from a safe environment.
The grant funding will allow the sheriff’s office to provide the devices free of charge to participants, as well as cover monthly service fees associated with the products for the grant period.
