Elderly Missing/Silver Alert Information and News

[Jenn]

http://www.kitv.com/news/18474550/detail.html

Hawaii Alzheimer's Advocates Want Alert For Missing
Police Fear More Alerts Could Weigh On Public's Interest

POSTED: 3:35 pm HST January 13, 2009
UPDATED: 4:00 pm HST January 13, 2009

HONOLULU -- Advocates for people with Alzheimer's disease support the idea of an alert to get the public to respond more quickly when an elderly person is reported missing.

The idea is for a "silver alert" for wandering seniors, similar to the "Amber Alert" for abducted children.

The families of senior citizens have turned to police and the media many times for help finding lost loved ones. Usually the wandering friend or family member is found disoriented. However, a number of times they have been found too late, or not at all.

"The police probably notify the media a lot later in the game than the first critical period," said Chris Shirai, of the Alzheimer's Association.

The critical period is the first 24 hours during which the Alzheimer's Association said a confused patient is likely still within a mile or so of home. They want an alert similar to the way abducted child alerts are posted on highway signs and in the media as soon as possible.

"We love them and we don't want them to get hurt or become missing," Shirai said.

The state House Republicans proposed a silver alert, similar to one in Texas.

Missing children experts and police said they are not sure about the idea, fearing there would be so many alerts the general public would stop paying attention.

"What I would say is give it a try and if it becomes too overwhelming to the system and people are desensitized to it then we could make adjustments," Rep. Lynne Finnegan said.

Finnegan said based on the experience in Texas, she estimates no more than 10 silver alerts per year. Not too many for a system that could save a life, she said.

[Jenn]

http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/archive/7/3/3639/

January 15, 2009

PROJECT LIFESAVER HELPS LOCATE THE MISSING

By Leah Etling, Staff Writer

A program of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department to keep people with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other conditions that might cause them to wander is gaining traction locally.

Project Lifesaver, which provides patients with tracking devices so they can be easily located if they leave home, is funded by donations from service groups, including the Lions Club and Rotary.

A wristband device that emits a silent radio signal can be worn on the wrist or ankle.

If the person goes missing, a mobile locator device operated by the county’s search and rescue team is used to pick up the radio signal and find them.

“The response has been tremendous,” said Sgt. Brad McVay of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. McVay heads the Crime Prevention unit handling the program.

Currently, there are 20 people from Carpinteria to Santa Maria using the locators, which aren’t limited in usefulness to the elderly.

A few live in care homes, but most are in private residences. Families with autistic and Downs Syndrome children are also viable candidates to participate, as are people with brain injuries.

Statistics from the national Alzheimer’s Association say that among people with the disease, 69 percent will become lost or wander away from home at some point. Of that group, 61 percent are likely to do so a second time.

Those who have the disease sometimes become confused when a familiar routine is disrupted. They can become lost just a block from home.

The program had its first successful rescue of a client about two months ago, when a man from Carpinteria wandered away from home.

He wasn’t found in Carpinteria, but a neighbor reported seeing him at a bus stop where a Ventura-bound bus picks up passengers.

McVay drove to Ventura and within minutes was able to pick up the signal from the tracking device.

“He was in a really remote area along Sea Cliff, along the road and railroad tracks in the  darkness,” McVay recalled.

Suzanne Hunt, area director of the Santa Barbara County Alzheimer’s Association, said the program has been a relief to her clients who have signed up for it.

“It’s really almost a 100 percent guarantee that he will be found safely,” Hunt said. “What families like about it is they don’t have to do anything; it’s all in the hands of the sheriff’s department.”

There are 9,000 people living with dementia or Alzheimer’s in Santa Barbara County, Hunt said. Each has about two people caring for them, on average, meaning the total population directly affected by the disease is more than 27,000.

Crime prevention specialist Tony Dunham said that 12 of the program participants are in the North County.

He describes the feeling of having a relative wander off to that experienced by parents who lose a child at Disneyland or in a shopping mall.

“It’s a lot of security for the family, knowing if something does happen to the loved one, they’re going to be located,” said Dunham, a former CHP officer in Buellton. “The average search time is 30 minutes or less. That equates into a big monetary benefits to the county, and the citizens of the county.”

Dunham said he thinks all counties in the country should have the program.

The cost of the program is about $300 initially for the batteries and wristbands. Annual battery replacements run $125

If a family can’t afford the equipment, sponsorships are available from community service groups such as the Lions Club and Rotary.

The sheriff’s department sends personnel monthly to replace the batteries in the devices. They are working on establishing a volunteer program to perform the service long term.

Project Lifesaver began on the East Coast in 1999, and has since been established nationwide. Of 1,700 searches that have been performed for those wearing the wristbands, the program has a 100 percent success rate of finding them alive.

The average time of rescue is 20 minutes.

Countywide, missing persons reports of those who have wandered away from home are relatively common. Often, they are found by family or neighbors within a short time and the call is cancelled.

“They don’t generally turn into a full scale search, but occasionally they do,” McVay said. “Someone in perfect health, but with some form of dementia, has their chance of survival decrease by 50 percent after 24 hours.”

For more information about the program, visit the sheriff’s department Web site at www.sbsheriff.org and click on the Project Lifesaver link. Or, call McVay at (805) 571-1540 or Dunham at (805) 737-7939.

Reach Leah Etling @ letling@syvjournal.com.

Alzheimer’s Statistics

• As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s.

• 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer’s in their lifetime.

• Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s.

• Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death.

• The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementia to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year.

— Source: Alzheimer’s Association.

[Jenn]

http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/2009/1/16/wisconsin-should-have-a-silver-alert

Wisconsin should have a Silver Alert

Posted on January 20, 2009 5:30 AM

Mary Zeltzer of Largo, Florida left her assisted-living complex to pick up some groceries.  When the 86-year old failed to return, her daughter became worried. A week later, Mary Zeltzer's daughter learned her mother had been found in her own car, a drowning victim.

That was February 2008, eight months before the state of Florida enacted a Silver Alert program. Silver Alert is an Amber Alert-type system for elderly Alzheimer's or dementia patients that stray or wander off.

Charlie Brownlee had a better fate than Mary Zeltzer. Like Zeltzer, 76-year old Charlie Brownlee wandered away.  Brownlee had been staying at his sister's home in Miami.  He left barefoot, got into a car, and attempted to drive to his home in Alabama.

Charlie Brownlee's family notified authorities. That was during November 2008, one month after Florida began its Silver Alert program.  A Silver Alert was issued and Brownlee was found by a police officer parked in a ditch about 30 miles away, alive and unharmed.

I will soon introduce legislation to create a Silver Alert system in Wisconsin. My legislation is modeled after Wisconsin's highly successful Amber Alert program. The Silver Alert would utilize the Amber Alert system to alert the public about an elderly person wandering or becoming lost.

When an Amber Alert is activated, Wisconsin radio and television stations cut into programming to broadcast information about an abducted child using the Emergency Alert System.  Highway message board signs also convey information about confirmed child abduction. The Silver Alert would use that same system that is already in place to alert the public about an elderly missing person.

Getting information out quickly and employing the aid of the public may prevent the tragic death of a senior citizen. That is why I consider this is life-saving legislation, one of the most important bills the Legislature will consider this session. Because the Silver Alert utilizes a system that piggybacks off a system that is already up and running, the cost of Silver Alert would be minimal, if anything.

The Alzheimer's Association reports that at least 5.2 million Americans suffer from dementia. Research shows that six out of 10 of those will wander. Only four percent of those leaving home alone are able to find their way back without help. Seniors and others with dementia wander away, on foot or driving. If they are not found within 24 hours, at least half will suffer serious injury or die. An aging baby boomer population means those figures will surely grow.

Twelve states have Silver Alert and the program has been successful. A majority of those reported missing have returned safely.  While the protocol for activating a Silver Alert varies from state to state, most of the states that have the program require local law enforcement to confirm that the missing person is a danger to himself or others and that the individual suffers from some sort of dementia before issuing the alert.

The beauty of Silver Alert is that within hours, thousands of eyes are looking for the car and the license plate or that missing elderly person. Broadcasters and others already know how to use the Amber Alert system. They should be able to implement Silver Alert quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Silver Alert has put many families at ease providing comfort to them should they have a family member who has dementia.

The Silver Alert legislation has the support of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Association, the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups Inc., and the Wisconsin Health Care Association. This legislation is nonpartisan and a positive step for the health and welfare of precious elderly.

State Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) represents Wisconsin's 28th District.

[Jenn]

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_silver26.3d2e309.html

Advocates want lifesaving Silver Alerts in California

10:00 PM PST on Sunday, January 25, 2009

By LAURIE LUCAS
The Press-Enterprise

Linda LeFlore thinks her 77-year-old aunt might still be alive if her disappearance had been broadcast by a coordinated warning system.

But the Golden State, the one with the highest population of people 65 and older, is not among the 12 states that have Silver Alerts, designed to find aging wanderers with dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

Congress began pushing last year for nationwide development of the program. But in California, discussion is "still ongoing" on legislation for a Silver Alert that was introduced last year by state Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, said her spokesman Russ Lopez.

Similar to Amber Alert communications established in the mid-1990s to find missing children, authorities interrupt television and radio programs and flash information on electronic highway signs regionally or statewide.

On Dec. 2, police found LeFlore's aunt, Venora Whitmore, dead inside her car that had crashed into a drainage canal in Perris. She had been last seen Nov. 16 in Menifee, where she had dropped off two church members.

"She got disoriented in the dark and got lost trying to find her house," said LeFlore, of Moreno Valley. "I believe there's a great need for a Silver Alert. If we had more help, we might have found her sooner than after 16 days."

Denise Tarvin, of Visalia, said a Silver Alert might have saved her mentally disabled son.

On March 29, authorities found the remains of Steven Kandarian, 30, in a remote area east of UC Riverside. He had wandered away from his caregiver and went missing for three months.

Tarvin was unfamiliar with the bill proposed by Alquist, but said, "I would be behind it."

Experts say a Silver Alert is needed in this state, where 558,000 residents ages 55 and older are Alzheimer's patients. That's one-tenth of the nation's 5.2 million people living with the disease, said Jean Dickinson, a spokeswoman for the Alzheimer's Association, California Southland Chapter.

"A Silver Alert in this state would go a long way to improve public safety," Dickinson said.

Excellent Results

Tracking programs such as Project Lifesaver, Medic Alert and Safe Return report excellent results in recovering missing elders. But not all senior citizens can afford to enroll in emergency response programs and remote monitoring systems that include ID jewelry, personalized wallet cards or high-tech devices.

Colorado was the first to enact a Silver Alert Program in 2006. Protocol varies among the 11 states that followed suit but most require local law enforcement to confirm that the missing person suffers from some sort of dementia and is a danger to his or herself or others.

In Ohio, the individual must be at least 65. In North Carolina, no medical diagnosis or state residence is required and the program covers anyone 18 and older with dementia or cognitive impairment. In Texas, the alert must come within 72 hours of the mentally impaired person's disappearance and the missing senior must be at least 65 and a Texas resident.

CAMPAIGN ONGOING

Visiting Angels, an organization that provides in-home care for thousands of seniors in the United States, urges everyone to call and write their senators to sponsor federal legislation.

"We want to protect and maintain the dignity of seniors who wander," said Joan Roberts, who owns Visiting Angels of Riverside County.

Of the 108 Silver Alerts issued in North Carolina in 2008, officials said they found 99 people alive and another eight who were dead. One case is still open but authorities say they believe that person disappeared of his or her own will

Since Florida enacted its Silver Alert in October, officials safely recovered all 32 of its missing seniors. "It's still early, but we've had a positive response," said Kristen Perezluha, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Law Enforcement.

Opponents in some states, including New York, have rejected Silver Alert proposals because of budget concerns and fears of weakening Amber Alerts by overburdening law enforcement.

Administrators say the state programs are inexpensive to run because they piggyback on Amber Alert systems.

Last August, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Silver Alert Act that would provide support to the state initiatives and assist in their expansion. The bill would create a coordinator within the Department of Justice who would set voluntary guidelines and monitor state programs. The bill awaits Senate approval.

The death of an 86-year-old Florida woman, Mary Zeltzer, who disappeared from an assisted-living facility, prompted that state's and the federal legislation.

Zeltzer's daughter, Mary Lallucci, of Tallahassee, actively campaigned for both.

"As tragic as my mother's death was," she said, "I feel that some good has come out of it. I think my mother would be proud."

[Jenn]

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20081218/ZNYT04/812183019/1109/SPORTS?Title=Florida_Adopts___x2018_Silver_Alerts__x2019__for_Mentally_Impaired_Elderly_Who_Wander_Off

Florida Adopts ‘Silver Alerts’ for Mentally Impaired Elderly Who Wander Off

Published: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 5:10 a.m.

MIAMI — Charlie Brownlee, who is 76 and suffers from dementia, staggered out of his sister’s Miami home barefoot one day last month and got behind the wheel of a car.

Mr. Brownlee’s condition is generally manageable with medication, but on that day the family was dealing with the death of a relative, and no one had remembered to give him his pills. “And just like that,” said his sister, Mary Agnes Jones, “no one knew where he was.”

Frantic, the family reported Mr. Brownlee’s disappearance to the police, who immediately issued a bulletin under Florida’s newly created Silver Alert program.

Similar to the Amber Alert, declared when a child is abducted, a Silver Alert is circulated when a person 60 or older who suffers from dementia or another cognitive impairment like Alzheimer’s disease goes missing. About a dozen other states, including neighboring Georgia, have adopted similar programs, and legislation creating a national program is pending in Congress.

In Florida, where the elderly are so large a share of the population and, according to state government estimates, account for half a million cases of Alzheimer’s, the Silver Alert has had an immediate impact, officials say.

Indeed, all of the 19 people for whom the state has issued bulletins since adopting its program in November have been found, said E. Douglas Beach, Florida’s secretary of elder affairs. That includes Mr. Brownlee, who, having been missing for two days, was discovered by a police officer parked in a roadside ditch some 30 miles north of his sister’s house.

One feature of the Florida program sends an automated phone call to every residence within a one-mile radius of the missing person’s home, providing pertinent information like a physical description and the vehicle being driven, if any. In Mr. Brownlee’s case, said Detective Jose Rojas of the Miami Police Department’s missing persons unit, “we put out about 5,000 calls describing what he looked like, the car he was driving and which way we thought he was traveling.”

In another feature, for cases like Mr. Brownlee’s in which the missing person is thought to be behind the wheel, the Florida Department of Transportation’s “dynamic message signs,” which normally alert drivers to traffic conditions and detours, flash a physical description of the person, the kind of vehicle, its license plate number and possible direction traveled.

Mr. Brownlee was apparently trying to return to his own home, in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when he was found. Some who suffer from dementia think they can quickly get back to their former homes, however distant, said Christa Ksiezopolski of the Alzheimer and Parkinson Association of Indian River County, up the coast just north of Fort Pierce.

“They aren’t like you or I,” Ms. Ksiezopolski said. “They don’t understand how far they are from home.”

That can be all the more serious in a state to which so many of the elderly move.

“You see how many seniors we have here,” Gov. Charlie Crist said the other day at the groundbreaking of a new home for the elderly in South Miami. “It’s important that we take care of the seniors that are vulnerable.”

[Jenn]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-ed21208dec21,0,1915351.story

EDITORIAL We think: Florida's Silver Alert system for missing seniors is a good model for the nation

December 21, 2008

As many as 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Ten million baby boomers will develop the progressive brain disorder. And 60 percent of its victims will wander from their homes or places of care at some point, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

These troubling statistics make the case for a system to locate individuals with Alzheimer's or other cognitive impairments who go missing -- a Silver Alert, like the Amber Alert for missing children.

In October, following the lead of some other states, Gov. Charlie Crist created a Silver Alert program for Florida, where almost a quarter of the population is over 60. The program draws on the resources of state and local law-enforcement to alert officers, the news media and the public to missing seniors with cognitive impairments. If a vehicle is involved, information can appear on highway message boards.

Florida officials say that all two-dozen seniors for whom alerts have been issued so far have been located. While critics worry that too-frequent highway messages could be overlooked by motorists, a panel will review the performance of the program next year and decide if changes are called for.

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida is trying to expand the concept nationwide. After the U.S. House approved a bipartisan bill in September to provide federal grants to help states start Silver Alert programs, Mr. Martinez introduced a Senate version of the legislation with Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl.

The Senate bill got buried in the pileup at the end of this year's session. It deserves another chance to become law when Congress reconvenes in January.

[Kathylene]

http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=435401

04/13/09

National needs silver alert system

Editor:

Florida has more than 520,000 persons with Alzheimer's disease. As the threat of Alzheimer's disease continues to touch more people's lives, the safety and security of those with dementia will continue to be a concern to us all.

Last year, the governor created a statewide Silver Alert Act to locate lost or missing persons with Alzheimer's or other memory impairments. Six out of 10 people with Alzheimer's will wander from their homes or facilities. If not found within a 24-hour period, up to half will suffer serious injury or death.

Congress may be following Florida's lead to create a nationwide network.

The Alzheimer's Association remains committed to working with state and national lawmakers in developing a comprehensive approach to the creation of a Silver Alert system: authorizing grants for law enforcement dementia training and working with existing identification, support and enrollment programs.

For more information about the Alzheimer's Association contact the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter at 727-578-2558 or go online at www.alz.org/FlGulfCoast.

Gloria Smith

Alzheimer's Association

[Kathylene]

http://arkansasmatters.com/content/fulltext/news/?cid=208991

Silver Alert: Helping Find Missing Adults in Arkansas

Reported by: KARK 4 News
onday, Apr 6, 2009 @03:00pm CST

There's a new program now available in Arkansas that helps find missing adults, specifically seniors.

Silver Alerts work much the same as the state's Morgan Nick Amber Alert System, which is designed to alert the public when a child is abducted or reported to law enforcement as missing.
Governor Mike Beebe on Monday announced the creation of the Arkansas Silver Alert. The program is a mutual agreement of the Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Sheriffs' Association and Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police. The Arkansas State Police will host the Silver Alert website (click here).

The Alzheimer's Association commends State Representative Butch Wilkins for leading the effort to establish an Arkansas Silver Alert Program.

One of the freshman legislator's chief reasons for bringing this issue forward has to do with his personal experience as a caregiver for wife, Pat, and his mother-in-law, both Alzheimer's patients. "Pat was diagnosed six years ago, and it just changes your life in every way," Wilkins said. "Silver Alert can help families get information out quickly to reunite them with their loved ones. Part of the alert will be to encourage caregivers to keep updated photos and important information around to provide to law enforcement if a situation arises."

According to the 2009 Alzheimer's Association Fact & Figures, 6 out of 10 people with Alzheimer's disease will wander from their homes or caregiving facilities at some point as the disease progresses. If not found within a 24-hour period, up to half will suffer serious injury or death. Even in one's own neighborhood or a place that is familiar, the person living with Alzheimer's may become disoriented and lost, and 94-percent of people with Alzheimer's disease who wander are found within just over a mile from his or her place of residence or last location seen.

"We are delighted to partner with the state's law enforcement leadership to ensure peace of mind for families and professional caregivers of those with a dementia diagnosis. This shared vision will heighten awareness, increase compassion and assist in a timely safe return of our loved ones," said Sandra Warmack, State Director for the Alzheimer's Association.

As the threat of Alzheimer's disease continues to touch more people's lives, the safety and security of those with Alzheimer's or dementia-related illnesses will continue to be a concern to us all. In order to address this growing population, the Alzheimer's Association remains committed to working with lawmakers to ensure that safety issues are raised in the context of comprehensive federal and state Alzheimer's disease planning that better acknowledges the unique needs of the cognitively impaired.

The most effective system will include collaboration and cooperation between families, all levels of government and organizations that support local communities, like the Alzheimer's Association.

For more information about Arkansas Silver Alert, click here.

To learn more about the National Silver Alert program, click here.

[Kathylene]

http://nationalsilveralert.org/

Silver Alert - The "Amber Alert" for Seniors

Modeled after the Amber Alert, the Silver Alert is an emergency system in which law enforcement can broadcast regional or statewide alerts for missing seniors and/or other adults with Alzheimer's or other cognitive disorders.

A growing number of states are enacting laws that call for the development of the Silver Alert program and some have implemented their own notification systems.

In April, 2008, U.S. Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis (R-FL), introduced legislation that would establish a national grant program to help U.S. States and territories establish Silver Alert notification systems to locate missing individuals suffering from dementia related illnesses.
 
Introducing The National Silver Alert Program

Time is of the essence when individuals with Alzheimer's or other cognitive disorders wander off or become lost.

The National Silver Alert Program was developed to provide vital information to authorities to assist in the search and safe recovery of these individuals, and quickly reunite them with their loved ones and/or caregivers.


The program captures vital personal, medical, caregiver information and color photograph, and prints the information on 2 wallet-sized ID cards, one large ID card and CD-ROM.
 
Should a person with Dementia wander off or get lost, a caregiver needs only present an ID card or CD-ROM to authorities to begin the search and recovery effort.
 

According to the Alzheimer's Association:

    * As many as 5.2 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's.
    * 10 million baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's in their lifetime.
    * Every 71 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer's.
    * Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death.

This program is open to ALL senior citizens who wish to have their vital personal, medical and contact information readily available in the event of an emergency.

For information on bringing the National Silver Alert Program to your community, please visit our contact page.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/politics/Missing_adult_alerts_bill_gets_go_ahead_20090420

Missing adult alert bill gets go-ahead
Alerts intended to help find missing adults

Updated: Monday, 20 Apr 2009, 7:30 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 20 Apr 2009, 5:20 PM EDT

    * Jim Shella
    * Edited by Andrew Bonner

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A bill to create Silver Alerts in Indiana is on its way to the governor's desk after a 44-0 in the state Senate Monday. One senator called the bill a quality of life issue for Alzheimer's patients and their families.

Senator Pat Miller (R) of Indianapolis authored the Silver Alert bill and guided it through both Houses in the General Assembly.

"This is modeled exactly after the Amber Alert. What the difference will be is these people will be walk-aways, they will not have been abducted," said Miller.

The campaign for the bill prompted family members to come to the Statehouse with sometimes tragic stories of missing relatives with Alzheimer’s.

Sen. Vi Simpson of Indianapolis (D) was a co-author of the bill. She said, "My own father had Alzheimer's for almost 10 years before he finally passed away and I can tell you there were times when he wandered off."

The bill calls for Silver Alerts on highway signs and in the media that could be localized, as opposed to the Amber Alerts, which are statewide. That difference helped overcome objections from broadcasters and the state police who warned that too many alerts would render them ineffective.

Lawmakers saw it as a problem begging for attention.

Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R) of Valparaiso said, “We're an aging population and we know, as time goes on, more and more people are going to be losing their faculties."

At least 10 states already issue Silver Alerts. If the governor signs the bill, Indiana will have the alerts beginning July 1.

[Kathylene]

http://wvgazette.com/News/politics/200904220821

April 22, 2009
Manchin signs Silver Alert into law
System aimed at helping lost senior citizens
For years, police across the country have used Amber Alerts to help locate abducted children. Soon, West Virginia State Police will use similar alerts to find lost elderly people.
By Alison Knezevich
Staff writer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- For years, police across the country have used Amber Alerts to help locate abducted children. Soon, West Virginia State Police will use similar alerts to find lost elderly people.

On Wednesday, Gov. Joe Manchin signed into law a bill (HB2504) to create a statewide "Silver Alert" program to help track missing adults with Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive impairments.

Experts say that if a mentally impaired person is missing for more than 24 hours, it is unlikely they will be found alive or without serious injury.

Under the plan, the State Police will ask participating broadcast media outlets to notify the public when a mentally impaired adult is missing.

Police also will contact the state's Division of Highways, Department of Transportation and Turnpike Commission to alert motorists via road message signs.

At a bill-signing ceremony with officials from the state chapters of AARP and the Alzheimer's Association, Manchin said the legislation "reaffirms who we are as a people in West Virginia."

"When the public gets involved and takes ownership and responsibility, good things can happen," he said.

West Virginia is the 14th state to establish a Silver Alert system, said Jane Marks, director of the West Virginia chapter of the Alzheimer's Association.

Under the law, the state Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety must submit a plan to the Legislature by Dec. 1 about how it will implement the system.

House Majority Leader Brent Boggs, D-Braxton, and Delegate Larry Williams, D-Preston, contacted AARP West Virginia about supporting the legislation, said AARP West Virginia director Frank Bellinetti.

Now, the organization will work with senior centers, the disability community, law enforcement and others to publicize the new system, Bellinetti said.

"I think our job is just beginning," he said, "to get the word out, to inform the public that this opportunity is available."

Amber Alerts have been proven "over and over again" to prevent tragedies involving children, he said.

"Now we have the opportunity to prevent tragedy from happening to mentally impaired adults," said Bellinetti, who received an Honorary West Virginian Award from Manchin on Wednesday.

[Kathylene]

http://www.wjhg.com/home/headlines/30628429.html

Silver Alert     
Posted: 12:12 PM Oct 8, 2008
Last Updated: 8:52 PM Oct 8, 2008

   
With the stroke of his pen, Governor Charlie Crist has created a Silver Alert system in Florida.

Similar to Amber Alerts, the Silver alert is designed to create a wide spread lookout for seniors who wander from their surroundings.

It was created after Mary Lallucci’s mother checked herself out of a Pinellas County nursing home and accidentally drove into the intracoastal waterway.

“And I hope our tragedy saves lives, and I know it wills saves lives. That’s the only thing that brings comfort to my family is that our tragedy will save someone else’s life. And we thank all of you.”

The state plan is patterned after a Pinellas County plan that has been in effect 3 months.

To learn more about the Florida Silver Alert program, visit www.fdle.state.fl.us

[Kathylene]

http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-silver-alerts-missouri-51309,0,7193000.story

Can Silver Alerts Save Seniors' Lives?

Originally reported by Dave Froehlich Web Producer Rebecca Sapakie
May 13, 2009

Video

KANSAS CITY, MO. - When a child is missing, there's no question what happens next. An Amber Alert is issued. The alert originates locally, but can be a national call to action, using everything from TV news to electronic traffic signs and billboards to help officers from all across the country bring the child back home.

Now, some wonder if these updates can be used to help others who are in trouble. A so-called Silver Alert would function just like an Amber Alert, only this time the focus would be on seniors suffering from dementia, alzheimer's or some other condition that would cause them to leave home and be unable to get back. Everyone seems to agree Silver Alerts would be a good idea, but giving them the force of law is often more challenging.

Blanche Beaven still enjoys looking back on the day she married her husband John, but in June of 2006, just weeks after their 43rd anniversary and just a week short of his 77th birthday, those plans changed forever.

"He took a walk that Saturday, he seemed to be fine," Beaven says. "He took a walk that day between 4:30 and 5 and he never came home. Then about 6 o'clock, I thought oh my gosh, where is he?"

Blanche says John's doctors didn't believe he had dementia or alzheimer's, but he did have a medical procedure performed the day before, and had been under a full anesthetic. Wednesday evening, a body was found on the banks of the Missouri River. On Thursday, the body was identified as that of John Beaven.

"Of course, I kept thinking, did he call out for me?" she said. "If they could have gotten started (earlier)... because he was 17 miles from home, I was told. Somebody had to see him."

Jim Crenshaw of Lathrop serves on the board of Missouri's 'Silver Haired Legislature,' a statewide agency that lobbies on behalf of the state's seniors. Crenshaw says just like in Amber Alert cases, the first few hours in a senior's disappearance are critical in the effort to bring them home alive.

Unlike a growing number of states, Missouri doesn't have a 'Silver Alert' law in place. Instead, they have an 'Endangered Persons Advisory' that's been on the books since January of 2007. The advisory can be used to track down missing seniors, but it's not used exclusively for the elderly, doesn't allow for the use of roadside electronic signs, and doesn't allow law enforcement to issue and update alerts to a list of agencies that might be on the lookout for the missing person. Crenshaw says that means the current legislation lacks the teeth a true 'Silver Alert' would be able to use.

"The law will put the aggressiveness into where it belongs," he says. "Because the State Highway Patrol's not going to get involved, because they can't. They're not going to put it on the sign, because they can't. You're not going to get any help."

In late March, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed legislation establishing a Silver Alert program for her state. Budget communications establishing the plan show how much more Silver Alerts would be used compared to their amber counterparts. In Kansas alone, 133 people over the age of 65 were reported missing in 2007 and 2008. In that same time span, only five Amber Alerts were issued in the state.

Kansas is setting aside over $111,000,000 in overtime to help the Kansas Bureau of Investigation staff these Silver Alert cases, but with an aging population, there will be likely be progressively more cases that require Silver Alerts, and states that make Silver Alerts the law of the land will eventually need even more money to hire extra case workers, dispatchers, and patrol officers.

"You can't just say to the people working whatever they work at at Amber, 'here, take this on, too,'" Crenshaw says. "You can't do that, you've got to have more reach to make it work."

Besides the financial problem, Crenshaw says Silver Alerts also tread on the dangerous territory of running the risk of profiling those who reach a certain age.

"In some cases, they might welcome you because they are lost," he says. "But you can't go out, and and say 'Are you 65, are you 75, are you 85? You're under watch.' Well, Big Brother doesn't go over good in this country."

Beaven says she knows all too well that not having someone on the lookout is too high of a price to pay. "It's important to me," she says. "The piece of mind came when he was found. But we don't want it that way. We want it the other way, and I think it's very important, and yes, I would do anything I could to support that."

Crenshaw, who lost his own mother to Alzheimer's, agrees. "She didn't track at all on different things, little things," he says. "And it gradually got worse, and she died down here at the nursing home. Didn't know us at all; none of us. So it's a bitter pill for me, this program's needed. And I've seen it first hand."

Crenshaw and the rest of the Silver Haired Legislature will be watching to see how often Missouri's Endangered Person Advisory Program is actually being used to track down missing seniors and bring them home alive. But, Crenshaw says he believes most states will have Silver Alert laws on the books within the next four years. In the meantime, he says children need to have frank discussions with their aging parents about health and independence issues 'before' any warning signs arise.

Copyright © 2009, WDAF-TV

[Kathylene]

http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-ap-ct-xgr-silveralertmay14,0,3727980.story

Conn. becomes 16th state to adopt Silver Alerts

Associated Press
    May 14, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. - Connecticut is becoming the 16th state to adopt a Silver Alert system to help find missing adults with dementia and other cognitive impairments.

The state House of Representatives approved a bill establishing the program unanimously late Wednesday, sending it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell for her signature. The Senate had approved it April 30.

Silver Alerts are intended to help find adults with Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other diagnosed mental disabilities if they disappear or wander away from their caregivers.

It is modeled on the Amber Alert system used to prompt widespread publicity about missing children. It includes broadcasting emergency messages on radio stations, lottery terminals, electronic highway billboards and traffic incident signs.

[Kelly]

http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20091014/OKEMOS01/310140022/1002/NEWS01

State Rep. Meadows bill creates alert for missing seniors

October 14, 2009 � From Towne Courier

he Michigan House of Representatives Tuesday, Oct. 12 passed a plan sponsored by State Representatives Mark Meadows (D-East Lansing) and Dian Slavens (D-Canton) that will create the "Mozelle Alert" to notify the public in cases of missing endangered seniors, similar to the Amber Alert.

The "Mozelle Alert" is named in honor of Estella Mozelle Pierce, a senior who died after wandering from her Southwest Detroit home.

"The tragic case of Estella Mozelle Pierce shows how much of a need there is for these strong protections for our seniors," said Meadows, a sponsor of the plan.

"As someone who had a similar experience in my family, I know firsthand how important a program like this can be for families. More than five million Americans suffer from dementia, and with an Amber Alert-style program, we can keep our loved ones safe."

The House plan, which now heads to the Senate, is part of a larger effort to strengthen consumer protections for seniors and increase penalties for those who financially exploit them.

The Elder Abuse Protection Plan, which the House began moving in August, increases penalties for those who cheat or defraud seniors and empowers concerned citizens to file criminal complaints to stop and prevent abuse cases in nursing homes and elsewhere.

The plan also strengthens consumer protections by requiring financial institutions to do more to disclose the rights of seniors and create new safeguards against fraud.

"Elder abuse is a heinous and underreported crime, and we need a plan to stop it," said Slavens, Vice Chair of the House Senior Health, Security and Retirement Committee.

"As a health care professional for more than 20 years, I know how difficult it can be for victims to come forward after suffering physical and emotional trauma.

More needs to be done to shield Michigan's seniors from financial and physical abuse, often committed by the very people who are responsible for their safety.

Our seniors worked hard all of their lives to provide for their families and they deserve our support. This plan will add new protections to safeguard our loved ones."