Project Lifesaver: tracking bracelets for people with cognitive impairments - does your community

[lindisfarne]

participate?
http://www.startribune.com/local/east/51439572.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUsX

A year ago, Keith Kennedy, an autistic man from Shoreview, walked away from a Wisconsin summer camp, beginning "a week of utter hell," his mother recalled Wednesday. The 25-year-old eventually was found alive, naked by a creek.

Today, Kennedy is fully recovered, and as of this week, he is among the first in line in Ramsey County to get a radiowave-emitting bracelet that will aid authorities in finding at-risk people who wander.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher announced Wednesday that the county is the latest in a growing number of jurisdictions in Minnesota to join Project Lifesaver, a program that provides the technology to help track vulnerable people.

For $99 in upfront per-person costs, and $30 a month for battery replacements, caregivers applying to the program can secure bracelets for people with autism, Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome and other cognitive impairments.

Had the program been available a year ago, and Kennedy fitted then with a bracelet, the sheriff's office could have sent deputies with equipment to track him, helping find him sooner and at a cost far less than the estimated $350,000 spent on last year's search, Ramsey County Sheriff's Cmdr. Joe Paget said.
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I wonder why batteries run $30/month? That seems high.

[MercutioATC]

1. Aside from the possibility that it's a health hazard, it's a great program.

I'm 100% behind the concept, but the jury's still out on whether transmitters (like transmitting bracelets and cellphones) pose a health hazard.

[tavalon]

2. Being missing for a week and found naked by a creek is a health hazard

My severely autistic son is 14 and I would definitely consider this.

[tavalon]

3. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I looked at this and then looked at the website for Project Lifesaver and then looked to see if there was an affiliate in Seattle and there is! I'm going to call them tomorrow. Our son is a runner and has managed to slip out a few times in his 14 years despite our locked down ward kind of house. I'm willing to pay that amount for the peace of mind it would give us.

[lindisfarne]

4. I hope this helps you & gives you some peace of mind!n/t

[Naturyl]

5. What qualifies (or will eventually qualify) as a "cognitive impairment," though?

I'm biploar. I don't want this collar on me. It may be a good program in some senses, but isn't there a potential for abuse here?