About Project Lifesaver

Project Lifesaver is a program of pro-active involvement and specialized rescue operations that respond to incidents of victims of Alzheimer’s, Autism and related disorders. These individuals have a tendency to wander and experience difficulty finding their way back home. Frequent wanderers wear a bracelet that has a tiny VHF transmitter which emits a signal every second. This transmitter can be tracked using specialized equipment by trained officers to find the lost participant. This program will tremendously cut the costs for searching for frequent wanderers and ultimately recover the lost participant within a short period of time. Currently there have been over 1,600 saves nationwide, with no lives lost and an average recovery time of 30 minutes!

Project Lifesaver began in Montgomery County in January 2006 with an initial group of 12 trained police officers. The Montgomery County Police Department’s Community Services Division is responsible for the implementation and management of the program. The pilot program began in May 2006 in the Wheaton and Silver Spring Districts. It has expanded to include 43 trained officers, including two canine officers.

There is a 10-hour lesson plan approved by the Maryland Police Training Commission offered as an elective in the Police In-Service course catalogue. Project Lifesaver teams are specially trained, not only in search and rescue techniques and the use of the electronic tracking equipment, but also in the methods necessary to communicate with a person who has Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. Locating the individual is only part of the mission. The person who is located may be disoriented, anxious, and distrusting. The Project Lifesaver team member knows how to approach the person, gain their trust and put them at ease for the trip home.

Currently there are 22 clients who wear the tracking bracelets and Project Lifesaver is available to anyone who lives in Montgomery County. Most of these clients have been the focus of a search in the recent past by our agency. This program is offered entirely free of cost to the caretakers and participants. Monthly monitoring is done by an officer visiting the participant’s house or school and ensuring the functionality of the equipment and checking the battery for replacement. The need for quick and reliable recovery of wanderers is essential. Recent statistics indicate that the County is experiencing a growing population of victims of Alzheimer’s disease and other related disorders. Project Lifesaver is a valuable solution for the already over-exhausted caretakers who must worry daily about their loved ones becoming lost.