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Law enfocement officials test Project Lifesaver equipment
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By KASEY DOYLE Staff Writer
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A helicopter hovered over the area surrounding Maysville Community and Technical College as Mason County sheriff department squad cars circled the vicinity Wednesday morning.
"The search has officially started at this time," came a voice from the radio frequency inside Sheriff Tony Wenz's patrol vehicle.
It was 10:49 a.m., and members of the Mason County sheriff's office were searching for a lost person; a scenario created to simulate the actions of a wandering Alzheimer's patient.
The sheriff's department was testing the new Project Lifesaver program, which helps law enforcement officials track individuals with Alzheimer's disease who are lost.
Project Lifesaver is a rapid response program designed to aid victims and families of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders such as Down Syndrome and autism, according to the Project Lifesaver Web site.
The transmitter is attached to a band, similar to a hospital bracelet, which is placed on the wrist of an Alzheimer's patient.
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| Mason County Deputy Sheriff's Gerald Curtis, foreground, Bob Dalzell, background at left, and Arnold Dodge use yagi antennas attached to tracking units to locate a missing Alzheimer's patient during a training exercise Wednesday. Brian Hitch/Staff |
The transmitter emits a signal the officers listen to on a receiver. Officials can track and recover the wandering patient by listening to the frequency.
The bracelet is a 1-ounce battery-operated radio wrist transmitter, which emits an automatic tracking signal every second, 24 hours a day. Each bracelet has a unique radio frequency and officials tune in to the missing person's transmitter frequency in order to pinpoint where the individual has wandered.
"We cannot locate a person, but we can locate a transmitter," Wenz said. "Our objective is to find the transmitter."
A transmitter was given to two volunteers on Wednesday, and the individuals were asked to simulate the actions of a wandering Alzheimer's patient.
The average person can walk approximately 4 miles in an hour, so the volunteers were asked to hide within a 4-mile radius of Maysville Community and Technical College. The volunteers simulated the actions of an Alzheimer's patient lost for about an hour. The volunteers were also asked to remain quiet and to give officials no indication of where they were hiding.
Officers began the search at MCTC. They were divided up into teams, and the teams were assigned to begin the search in separate areas of the 4-mile radius.
A helicopter, provided by LifeNet, a private medical service based in Mount Sterling, also aided in the simulation. LifeNet has offered its services to the Mason County sheriff's office when needed.
Once the transmitter signal was picked up, the other teams were notified of the location where the signal was heard.
Officers only drive 20 to 25 miles per hour when monitoring the transmitter signal.
"The signal can be missed if driving over 25 miles per hour," Wenz said.
Wenz said the first officer on the scene assumes command and "calls all the shots."
The transmitter signal came from the new elementary school construction zone on Clarks Run Road. Officials found the volunteers hiding among debris left by the construction company.
It took officials approximately 14 minutes to locate the transmitter, said Detective Pat Melton, Franklin County deputy sheriff and state Project Lifesaver coordinator.
Melton said Mason County officials trained for three days to learn the system, and each deputy passed a written exam about the program and about Alzheimer's disease.
"(The deputies) were all receptive to this," Wenz said. "They showed up for the training and were all eager to do this."
The deputies will continue training for the Project Lifesaver program, Wenz said.
The Mason County Sheriff's office is the fifth law enforcement agency in Kentucky to participate in Project Lifesaver.
The program was established in 1999 by the sheriff's office in Chesapeake, Va.
The program is designed to allow officials in other counties and states to pick up frequencies from the transmitter, in case a wandering individual crosses state lines.
More than 1,000 Project Lifesaver searches have been conducted nationwide with a 100 percent success rate, Melton said.
Wenz said at least two Alzheimer's patients in Mason County have died after wandering away from home and becoming lost. Wenz said he was on the search party for one of the missing patients.
"We cannot say if Project Lifesaver would have saved their lives, but their chances would have been much greater," Wenz said.
Wrist transmitters can be purchased for approximately $279, Wenz said. The caregiver is obligated to check the battery each day, and the sheriff's office will check the battery and change it every 30 days.
"Hopefully, we will never have to use this," Wenz said. "We want to have in place the best possible equipment and training to save a life that could have been lost."
Funding for the project came from individual donations and donations from local organizations and businesses.
"Without their help, I would not have been able to implement the program," Wenz said.
For more information about Project Lifesaver visit www.projectlifesaver.org.
Contact Kasey Doyle at kasey.doyle@lee.net or call 564-9091, ext. 318. |
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