Alzheimer Search and Rescue Operations

Search-and-rescue operations increasingly focusing on wandering Alzheimer's victims.
On its front page, the New York Times (5/5, A1, Johnson) reports, "About six in 10 dementia victims will wander at least once, healthcare statistics show, and the numbers are growing worldwide, fueled primarily by Alzheimer's disease." The "rising numbers of searches are driving a need to retrain emergency workers, police officers, and volunteers around the country who say they throw out just about every generally accepted idea when hunting" for Alzheimer's sufferers. Retired FBI agent Robert B. Schaefer, who now conducts training sessions for the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, recently told a class that "a dementia wanderer will sometimes take evasive action to avoid detection, especially if the disease has made them paranoid about authority figures."
Technology helps caregivers look after sufferers of Alzheimer's, dementia. The New York Times (5/5, A3, Johnson) reports, "Companies that make GPS devices are also starting to enter the growing Alzheimer's market with products that look like wristwatches, and even shoes with GPS monitors embedded in the heels. ... Lower on the technology scale, but widespread in its use around the nation, is radio frequency tracking." A nonprofit organization, Project Lifesaver, "equips Alzheimer's sufferers with wristbands," and "contracts with local government agencies to set up the service."