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Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Pam - 07-07-2015
Have a friend or relative with dementia, alzheimer's, autism, or down's syndrome? Please look into Project Lifesaver!! Don't wait until they are missing! These adults and children are the volunteer search and rescue community's main callouts in most areas. We've had 5 such callouts in the past month. On top of those handled solely by local law enforcement. Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) can be used for those who have the cognitive ability to signal for help.
http://www.projectlifesaver.org
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - cbelt3 - 07-07-2015
That IS very cool. It's tough to get many geriatric patients to wear a tracking pendant.... maybe turn it into a wristwatch... So far I think I've collected four befuddled geriatric patients and returned them... one my father and I picked up off the side of the road in the early stages of heat stroke on a 100 degree plus day... drove him to the fire station.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Pam - 07-07-2015
Their device is worn on the wrist or ankle. It's not a PLB that is activated by the wearer. Instead it transmits a signal that police can track when the person is reported missing. Each device has it's own frequency. Missing persons using this device are found in under 30 minutes.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - cbelt3 - 07-07-2015
Grandpa LoJack...
Most assisted living and nursing homes use a local system for their memory residents / patients. Sounds an alarm if a wearer slips out the door.
Memory facilities are tough... there's always someone waiting just inside the door looking to escape from 'jail' and go home. At my wife's work, I suggested they change the layout around a little bit and create a sort of sitting room by the door, so that the escapees would at least have someplace to sit, and people could visit with them. It sort of worked.
The elderly have had many years to get sneaky...
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Pam - 07-07-2015
Hogeway does it right. Residents can wander, shop, have safe freedom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwiOBlyWpko&ab_channel=CNN
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Onamuji - 07-08-2015
Pam wrote:
Their device is worn on the wrist or ankle. It's not a PLB that is activated by the wearer. Instead it transmits a signal that police can track when the person is reported missing. Each device has it's own frequency. Missing persons using this device are found in under 30 minutes.
No cellular connection. They're using GSM for (allegedly) cell-tower location data. Looks like it's not very useful once it gets far from the base-station and handset... about a hundred feet to maybe 325 feet or so max-range from the description. Keeps people chained to a few rooms or a small house. I'll bet the false-alarms make trouble. If someone skips out at the right moment (or gets behind the wheel of a car) you're depending upon the cops to have and be trained on an expensive unit to ping them from distance and on the cops to drive up and down the streets trying to get a signal.
Also, no panic-button? Did I miss that in the description somewhere? What if someone gets in trouble inside the home?
Would have been an interesting first-gen product, but they're on the 3rd revamp and still haven't done much with it. While I like the wristwatch form-factor, I think the AT&T Amber Alert GPS locater is a better box.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Pam - 07-08-2015
Onamuji wrote:
[quote=Pam]
Their device is worn on the wrist or ankle. It's not a PLB that is activated by the wearer. Instead it transmits a signal that police can track when the person is reported missing. Each device has it's own frequency. Missing persons using this device are found in under 30 minutes.
No cellular connection. They're using GSM for (allegedly) cell-tower location data. Looks like it's not very useful once it gets far from the base-station and handset... about a hundred feet to maybe 325 feet or so max-range from the description. Keeps people chained to a few rooms or a small house. I'll bet the false-alarms make trouble. If someone skips out at the right moment (or gets behind the wheel of a car) you're depending upon the cops to have and be trained on an expensive unit to ping them from distance and on the cops to drive up and down the streets trying to get a signal.
Also, no panic-button? Did I miss that in the description somewhere? What if someone gets in trouble inside the home?
Would have been an interesting first-gen product, but they're on the 3rd revamp and still haven't done much with it. While I like the wristwatch form-factor, I think the AT&T Amber Alert GPS locater is a better box.
You're confusing products.
The PLI system uses radio frequencies that have a 0.5 to 1 mile diameter range on the ground and 7 miles in the air. Law enforcement is trained on how to search, detect, and home in on the unique frequency of the missing person. There are no false alarms. Family calls a certain phone number when the person has wandered away from home and then police are notified and given the frequency.
No satellite or cell tower is needed.
Costs to law enforcement are not that large, some are covered by the state, grants, or business partnerships. It's far less than the cost of conventional searches.
The PAL system is GPS/GSM and is used by the family to set boundaries and to assist with their own searches. It's not tied to local law enforcement. It's to prevent wandering to the point where law enforcement assistance is needed.
Neither are a PLB or I need help device. This device is for the persons I listed who do not have the mental capacity to call for help or realize they need help. This is for the wanderers. Passive devices. And as I said they account for the largest amount of callouts.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Onamuji - 07-08-2015
Pam wrote:
[quote=Onamuji]
[quote=Pam]
Their device is worn on the wrist or ankle. It's not a PLB that is activated by the wearer. Instead it transmits a signal that police can track when the person is reported missing. Each device has it's own frequency. Missing persons using this device are found in under 30 minutes.
No cellular connection. They're using GSM for (allegedly) cell-tower location data. Looks like it's not very useful once it gets far from the base-station and handset... about a hundred feet to maybe 325 feet or so max-range from the description. Keeps people chained to a few rooms or a small house. I'll bet the false-alarms make trouble. If someone skips out at the right moment (or gets behind the wheel of a car) you're depending upon the cops to have and be trained on an expensive unit to ping them from distance and on the cops to drive up and down the streets trying to get a signal.
Also, no panic-button? Did I miss that in the description somewhere? What if someone gets in trouble inside the home?
Would have been an interesting first-gen product, but they're on the 3rd revamp and still haven't done much with it. While I like the wristwatch form-factor, I think the AT&T Amber Alert GPS locater is a better box.
You're confusing products.
The PLI system uses radio frequencies that have a 0.5 to 1 mile diameter range on the ground and 7 miles in the air. Law enforcement is trained on how to search, detect, and home in on the unique frequency of the missing person. There are no false alarms. Family calls a certain phone number when the person has wandered away from home and then police are notified and given the frequency.
No satellite or cell tower is needed.
Costs to law enforcement are not that large, some are covered by the state, grants, or business partnerships. It's far less than the cost of conventional searches.
The PAL system is GPS/GSM and is used by the family to set boundaries and to assist with their own searches. It's not tied to local law enforcement. It's to prevent wandering to the point where law enforcement assistance is needed.
Neither are a PLB or I need help device. This device is for the persons I listed who do not have the mental capacity to call for help or realize they need help. This is for the wanderers. Passive devices. And as I said they account for the largest amount of callouts.
Thanks. The FAQs were not particularly good at describing the products.
It's been my experience that when impaired people wander they end up more scared than the people trying to find them. I think the panic button is an important feature. In combination with GPS and the geofence, that'd be a nice product... And that's what AT&T's Amber Alert device does - SMS when the geofence is breached, GPS for finding the person and a panic button.
I've been looking shopping for products like this for my elderly parents and haven't found anything better so far. A pendant or watch form-factor would be a nice enhancement.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Pam - 07-08-2015
Onamuji wrote:
[quote=Pam]
[quote=Onamuji]
[quote=Pam]
Their device is worn on the wrist or ankle. It's not a PLB that is activated by the wearer. Instead it transmits a signal that police can track when the person is reported missing. Each device has it's own frequency. Missing persons using this device are found in under 30 minutes.
No cellular connection. They're using GSM for (allegedly) cell-tower location data. Looks like it's not very useful once it gets far from the base-station and handset... about a hundred feet to maybe 325 feet or so max-range from the description. Keeps people chained to a few rooms or a small house. I'll bet the false-alarms make trouble. If someone skips out at the right moment (or gets behind the wheel of a car) you're depending upon the cops to have and be trained on an expensive unit to ping them from distance and on the cops to drive up and down the streets trying to get a signal.
Also, no panic-button? Did I miss that in the description somewhere? What if someone gets in trouble inside the home?
Would have been an interesting first-gen product, but they're on the 3rd revamp and still haven't done much with it. While I like the wristwatch form-factor, I think the AT&T Amber Alert GPS locater is a better box.
You're confusing products.
The PLI system uses radio frequencies that have a 0.5 to 1 mile diameter range on the ground and 7 miles in the air. Law enforcement is trained on how to search, detect, and home in on the unique frequency of the missing person. There are no false alarms. Family calls a certain phone number when the person has wandered away from home and then police are notified and given the frequency.
No satellite or cell tower is needed.
Costs to law enforcement are not that large, some are covered by the state, grants, or business partnerships. It's far less than the cost of conventional searches.
The PAL system is GPS/GSM and is used by the family to set boundaries and to assist with their own searches. It's not tied to local law enforcement. It's to prevent wandering to the point where law enforcement assistance is needed.
Neither are a PLB or I need help device. This device is for the persons I listed who do not have the mental capacity to call for help or realize they need help. This is for the wanderers. Passive devices. And as I said they account for the largest amount of callouts.
Thanks. The FAQs were not particularly good at describing the products.
It's been my experience that when impaired people wander they end up more scared than the people trying to find them. I think the panic button is an important feature. In combination with GPS and the geofence, that'd be a nice product... And that's what AT&T's Amber Alert device does - SMS when the geofence is breached, GPS for finding the person and a panic button.
I've been looking shopping for products like this for my elderly parents and haven't found anything better so far. A pendant or watch form-factor would be a nice enhancement.
Your experience doesn't match reality. Families need to assess the person at risk and their capabilities which can change with time. Dementia and alzheimer's persons can be terribly confused or so deep in their psychosis that they are in another time/place. Autistic and down syndrome persons may actively try to hide or evade everyone. Most of these people will not respond to searchers calling out their name, refuse to ask for help from people who are nearby, or go up to a house and knock and ask for help. Many will wander and get into trouble without even realizing they are in trouble. It's these people who need a passive location system. A panic button would not be used. The mental capacity is not there. This is why so many police departments are partnering with Lifesaver.
For the aging parent without mental incapacity, or with early dementia/alzheimer's the PAL or other devices like you mentioned are viable options.
Re: Project Lifesaver: Bringing loved ones home - Onamuji - 07-08-2015
Pam wrote:
Your experience doesn't match reality. Families need to assess the person at risk and their capabilities which can change with time. Dementia and alzheimer's persons can be terribly confused or so deep in their psychosis that they are in another time/place. Autistic and down syndrome persons may actively try to hide or evade everyone. Most of these people will not respond to searchers calling out their name, refuse to ask for help from people who are nearby, or go up to a house and knock and ask for help. Many will wander and get into trouble without even realizing they are in trouble. It's these people who need a passive location system. A panic button would not be used. The mental capacity is not there. This is why so many police departments are partnering with Lifesaver.
For the aging parent without mental incapacity, or with early dementia/alzheimer's the PAL or other devices like you mentioned are viable options.
I see what you're saying. It should be noted that the panic button in question is a supplemental feature. The device that I mentioned is a small black box designed to fit in a pocket or in a tiny pouch that clips onto clothes to passively locate a person via GPS and a cellular connection. It's got a basic app for an iPhone-user to locate their loved ones.
The ability to see the wanderer's GPS location on your cell phone is an invaluable feature and the baseline when I started shopping.