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Alzheimer’s Association Backs Silver Alert Proposal Plan
Protects Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease

Click here to view Silver Alert story on Channel 5, WCVB

Click here to read more about the Silver Alert Bill

WATERTOWN, MA (May 19, 2009) — The Alzheimer’s Association is pushing for legislation for a Silver Alert program for Massachusetts. The proposed alert system would activate a local search effort when a person impaired with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia wanders and becomes lost.

There are an estimated 120,000 people with Alzheimer’s in Massachusetts.

“More than 60% of people with Alzheimer’s will wander at some point in the course of the disease,” said Jim Wessler, President/CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter. “Wandering is life-threatening. A Silver Alert program would help reduce the danger and give some peace of mind to people with this disease and to their families.”

Massachusetts legislators are currently considering a Silver Alert bill sponsored by Senator Robert A. O’Leary (Cape and Islands) and developed with input from the experts at the Alzheimer’s Association.  Unlike the Amber Alert for missing children, the response for Silver Alert would focus on a search area close by the location where the person disappeared. Most of those who become lost, about 90%, are on foot. Search protocols are based on research showing that unless they leave by car, these missing persons are most often found within a mile of where they were last seen.

As proposed, Silver Alert would include special training for law enforcement officers and 9-1-1 operators. A reverse 9-1-1 call system would alert neighbors and local businesses most likely to first notice an older person who appears confused or disoriented.

“We need a coordinated approach with law enforcement and first responders,” Wessler said. I encourage everyone to get behind this effort and to ask their state Representatives and Senators to support this legislation.”

““The key to protecting these individuals from harm is to locate them quickly,” said Senator O’Leary. “We need to give public safety officials the tools to build on successful alert networks so that we may avoid harm to those people whenever possible, and so that we can send a positive message that we are providing all we can to safeguard our loved ones.”

The Alzheimer’s Association’s Medic Alert®+Safe Return® program, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for those with Alzheimer’s who wander or who have a medical emergency, would enhance the proposed Silver Alert system. The program offers an identification bracelet, also coordinates with local law enforcement, and provides vital follow-up counseling to patients and families.