Project Lifesaver

About

Project Lifesaver is an innovative and superlative initiative to aid the victims and families of people suffering Alzheimer's Disease and Related Mentally Dysfunctional Disorders (ARMD), such as Downs Syndrome, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Autism.ARMD people are victims just as if they were criminally attacked because ARMD physically robs the victims of their mental faculties, their dignity, their health, and ultimately their lives. The victim's family members watch the ARMD assault ravish their loved one-stealing hope, stealing rest, and stealing peace of mind. Project Lifesaver will provide relief to these families and caretakers from the constant fear of not being able to quickly locate their loved ones should they wander from their homes.

The Martinsville Sheriff's Office is proud to offer this exciting program to the Citizens of Martinsville and Henry County.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Martinsville Sheriff's Office Project Lifesaver is to reduce the time to locate Alzheimer's victims and other persons suffering from dementia who may walk away from their places of residence, by utilizing state-of-the-art technologies in conjunction with Martinsville Sheriff's Office personnel, who will supplement and integrate with existing public safety operations regarding emergency service response involving "lost and wandering" ARMD victims.

Project Strategy

The project strategy is to distribute electronic bracelets to ARMD victims with a history of or a potential for wandering (72% of wanders are repeat wanders). Each designated ARMD victim will be assigned a unique frequency and may be tracked and located by search and rescue personnel by the use of receivers tuned to the appropriate frequency.

Use of the transmitters will enable victims to be located in a matter of minutes instead of many hours or days. The intended supplemental action is to provide a rapid response of coordinated ground personnel to quickly locate these ARMD victims through electronic means.

For Enrollment in Project Lifesaver

Families or caregivers should contact the Martinsville Sheriff's Office and submit information on Alzheimer's, Dementia or Downs Syndrome victims. This information will be forwarded to the coordinator of the program to be reviewed for possible acceptance into the program. Funding for Project Lifesaver is a result of donations from private individuals, churches, corporations, and civic organizations, and is tax deductible. All donations are used directly for program equipment, rescues, and education expenses.