WE BRING LOVED ONES HOME

What is Project Lifesaver?

As part of his non-profit Crime Prevention Through Education program, Sheriff Ed Robb has brought Project Lifesaver to the Charlottesville area.

Project Lifesaver has completed over 1,100 successful search & rescue missions nationwide for wandering victims of Alzheimer’s disease, autism, Down syndrome and related neurological type disorders.  Clients are fitted with a personalized bracelet about the size of a large watch.  Embedded in the bracelet is a small radio transmitter.  When caregivers notify 911 that a person is missing, a search and rescue team responds to the wanderer’s area and starts searching with the mobile locater system.

The Albemarle Sheriff has teamed up with the Alzheimer’s Association and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging to find people who need this technology and get it to them quickly and cost-effectively.  “We don’t want anyone who needs this technology to go without it,” said Robb.  “We’ll find a way to pay for it.”

Project Lifesaver is the only program which is based upon an exclusive partnership with local Sheriff’s, Police, Fire and other public safety agencies to train and equip them to accomplish this critical life saving mission.  The project was initiated in 1999 in Hampton Roads, and was specifically created to find people who wander.  “Seventy percent of Alzheimer’s patients are likely to wander at some point in their lives,” said Robb.  “This program can save lives.”

There is a small cost for the bracelet and transmitter, as well as a $10 monthly fee for battery replacement.  The Alzheimer’s Association and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging are working with Robb to provide “scholarships” for those with limited funds who can benefit from the project.

“Project Lifesaver relies on state-of-the-art technology and a specially trained search and rescue team.  We are the only search and rescue team in our area with this technology.  “This may be the single most important service provided in our community to families with loved one who have the likelihood to wander away from home,” said Robb. 

The personalized tracking bracelets can be obtained from the Crime Prevention Through Education Foundation.  Please call the Albemarle County Sheriff's Office at (434) 972-4001 for more information.

Facts

• Project Lifesaver is the nation’s most effective program for locating and rescuing missing Alzheimer patients.

• Project Lifesaver has had a 100% recovery rate

• Project Lifesaver’s active radio device saves time over passive ID bracelets, which in turn saves lives

• Project Lifesaver’s FM radio frequency equipment is the most reliable and practical technology available in locating the missing and wandering

• Members of Project Lifesaver teams are trained in methods to communicate with a person who has Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder.