Free Tracking Bracelet For Alzheimer's Patients Could Save Lives
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A program in Westchester is offering high-tech tactics to help keep Alzheimer's patients out of harms way.
As CBS 2's Scott Rapoport reported, it's a technology that could be a life saver.
Peter Adamo, 85, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and may not know what the gadget on his wrist does, but it is designed to keep him protected and safe.
The device is actually a radio frequency bracelet designed to help keep track of Alzheimer's patients in the event they wander off from their loved ones, Rapoport reported.
"I went to look for him after two hours, but I couldn't find him," said Peter's wife, Loretta.
Loretta said her husband has wandered off several times. Most recently, he was found a mile and a half from his home, near the Hutchinson River Parkway. Peter couldn't recall the details, Rapoport reported.
"The highway; I'm trying to think of what highway it was," he said.
On Monday, as part of Project Lifesaver in Westchester County, Peter received his tracking bracelet. The devices were being handed out at the ElderServe Safe Centers for Seniors in New Rochelle.
Since the start of the program in 2008, approximately 300 of the tracking devices have been given out to people like Peter -- paid for by a federal grant.
"I think it's an amazing idea," Loretta said.
So how does it work? Each person with a bracelet is given a six digit tracking number. If the person goes missing, you can call the police and they look up the person's number and track them by radio signal, Rapoport reported.
For more information on obtaining the tracking bracelet, call ElderServe Safe Centers for Seniors at 914-365-1983.
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