Dallas Developing Quick-Alert System for Missing Alzheimer Patients

The Greater Dallas Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is hoping to have a new broadcast system in place by this fall to help find Alzheimer's patients who are missing.

The system is currently under development and is being modeled after the Amber Alert, a means of quick notification of television and radio stations when children are reported missing or abducted.

The system is an expansion of the Safe Return bracelet program where Alzheimer's patients wear shiny bracelets with their name and address inscribed on them. The bracelets have helped more than 5,000 Alzheimer's patients return safely to their residence after wandering away.

The Alzheimer's Association reports that more than half of the patients diagnosed with the disease wander and become lost at some time. The Alzheimer's Association Web page would serve as a clearinghouse for information about missing patients.

Police can enter information about a missing patient directly onto the Web page, and broadcasters can then be notified by email. The system will be effective only if its use is limited to the most serious cases, when people are missing during extreme temperatures or are in danger of injury or death.

Other sources: AP