“Bringing Loved Ones Home”

You May Contact The Sheriff's Office By Phone
(434) 847-1301

This life saving program is being successfully utilized by the Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement jurisdiction with citizens who are struggling with “cognitive dysfunction’s” such as Alzheimer’s, Autism, Downs Syndrome, Dementia and others.

Those citizens selected and involved in a project lifesaver program receive a personalized radio-transmitting device, which is attached to a wristband or anklet and placed on the person identified with some type of cognitive dysfunction. The family caregiver assisting the patient in this program, daily tests the unit and completes a checklist to ensure proper operation. If any problems or concerns are detected by the caregiver an immediate response is made by a trained member of the Sheriff’s Office to fix or replace the equipment. Deputies and Police Officers jointly service these patients by a monthly welfare and equipment check to ensure proper attachment, maintenance and service by the family caregiver.

If the patient wearing the radio-transmitter wanders off, the Sheriff’s Office is contacted immediately and mobilizes a joint search team from trained members of each agency who utilize receiving devices to triangulate the location of the missing citizen from the last know point of origin. View a Deomstration. As the search team hones in on the transmitters signal the circular search patterns are reduced until the transmitting device is located.

An average person can walk four miles in an hour. Law Enforcement and Emergency search teams, on average, have located missing patients wearing the radio-transmitting devices as quickly as 16 minutes from the time the teams initiated their search. Since Alzheimer’s and dementia patients are, many times, not properly dressed or prepared for adverse weather conditions when they become disoriented or lost, the longer they are in the elements the more likely they will suffer from weather-related physical problems.

Fifty-nine percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease wander and become lost and 72% are repeat wanders. Forty-six percent of these people may die if not found within 24 hours. Thus time is of the essence when one of these citizens becomes lost and needs to be found in an expeditious manner because a lost Alzheimer’s person represents a critical emergency.

Sheriff Gillispie and Colonel Bennett’s agencies will be working closely together in order to train, staff and facilitate this lifesaving community service. The Sheriff’s Office has been given the lead in this program to maintain and service the transmitting and receiving units as well as conduct joint training and implement the program within the City of Lynchburg. The Project Lifesaver equipment and training was initially paid for by a law enforcement block grant received by Lynchburg Police Department.

Citizens of Lynchburg who have a family member that suffers from some type of cognitive dysfunction and are interested in this program may get involved in Project Lifesaver. There is a $25.00 per month maintenance fee and for more information contact (434) 847-1301 and a trained member of Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office Project Lifesaver will contact you.

Others who are interested in assisting the Lynchburg community can donate monies to the local Lynchburg chapter of Project Lifesaver for use in the purchase of equipment and training or sponsoring a person in need of this program. The complete Emergency Responder System Unit costs $2,100.00 which is the Antenna, Receiver Unit, Head Set, Case protector and Transmitter.

The Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office is currently in need of three more complete units in order to triangulate more effectively during an actual search operation. The Lynchburg Chapter of Project Lifesaver became operational on June 17, 2002 with two families from the Lynchburg community with family members who have special needs. The Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office and Lynchburg Police Department are proud to sponsor and promote this life saving program for the citizens of our great community.