The Pilot Club of Covington presented Sheriff Ezell Brown with a generous donation check in the amount of $700 for Project LifeSaver Friday. Pilot members present were Jane Woodward, Eleanor Scarborough, Terry Ziemer, Ann Cargile and Dean Willard.

The sheriff’s office currently has four citizens participating in Project Lifesaver; two with autism and two with dementia.
The primary mission of Project Lifesaver is to provide timely response to save lives and reduce potential injury for adults and children who wander due to Alzheimer’s, autism, and other related conditions or disorders.

The task of searching for wandering or lost individuals with Alzheimer’s, autism, Down syndrome, dementia or other cognitive conditions is a growing and serious responsibility. Without effective procedures and equipment, searches can involve multiple agencies, hundreds of officers, countless man hours and thousands of dollars. More importantly, because time is of the essence, every minute lost increases the risk of a tragic outcome.

Citizens enrolled in Project Lifesaver wear a small personal transmitter around the wrist or ankle that emits an individualized tracking signal. If an enrolled citizen goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. Most who wander are found within a few miles from home, and search times have been reduced from hours and days to minutes. Recovery times for clients average 30 minutes — 95% less time than standard operations.