Grant funding available for people in Smith County suffering from Dementia

TYLER — Project Lifesaver is a program for people with dementia in Smith County. On Tuesday, Jamie Huff who administers the program locally told KTBB, “This is a ‘life-saving’ program. A lot of caregivers tend to put this off because they think my loved one is not going to wander today or tomorrow. They are not showing signs or symptoms of wandering, but to me and I’ve seen this personally, many times, the day that they want to go and do it on their own, that’s the day you need to worry the most.”

Project Lifesaver utilizes wearable radio transmitter technology that is placed on an enrolled person with dementia. If they wander off and cannot be located by their caregiver, they call 9-1-1 and a team of local law enforcement who is trained utilizes a digital receivers to search for the individual. Location time is an average of 30 minutes. Huff said the program is not new, in fact it has been available in our county for 15+ years, however most participants need full scholarships to participate a one time fee of $325 one time. We recently secured funding from the Area Agency on Aging to purchase transmitters. We only have 21 currently enrolled.” One in three senior adults in Smith County have or will develop Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, which is currently 12,622 people in the county. To learn more click the link. http://alzalliance.org/how-we-help/project-lifesaver/.