Implement Nationwide Silver Alerts for Missing Seniors
Missing children grab headlines, but missing senior citizens are far more common. In the United States there are currently more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and that figure is expected to grow to as much as 16 million by 2050.
According to an article by Alex Johnson, an MSNBC reporter,
“About 60 percent of such patients wander away from their homes or care facilities at some point, according to the Alzheimer’s Association; about half of those who are not found within 24 hours suffer serious injury or even death.”
The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons instituted the Silver Alert program in November 2007, inspired by Amber Alerts for missing children. Of the nearly 40 alerts issued in North Carolina, all but four of the missing persons were found alive, the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety said. The numbers are almost identical in Texas, where a similar program was also implemented last year.
Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, who cared for his own father as he struggled through the final stages of Alzheimer’s, noted that few states have senior alert programs — only 11, with others considering them. At the time of my writing, there is a bill on the Senate floor sponsored by Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, which would establish a national Silver Alert communications network to coordinate search efforts and give grants to states to take part.
Police and policy-makers said they would welcome the help, saying in general, it is harder to find a missing senior citizen than it is to find a missing child. People may think it odd if they see a child walking alone and approach them, but most people may not think it out of the ordinary if a senior is walking alone. Or they do not want to embarrass the Golden Oldie or invade their privacy if they’re outside on their own.
I’ve recommended before as part of a Senior Safety Net for Golden Oldies/our aging parents that they wear MedicAlert ID bracelets. These are also used in conjunction with the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return program. Silver Alerts would take this concept to an even broader level of action and response.
I’m hoping this important program will be implemented quickly nationwide and prove to be as effective as Amber Alerts have been!
To read the original article which contains the 11 states that have implemented the program, please click here.
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMissing children grab headlines, but missing senior citizens are far more common. In the United States there are currently more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and that figure is expected to grow to as much as 16 … [...]
This sounds like a very important – and easy – thing to do to make sure older people are safe.
It makes me sad that everyone cares so much about children, but not so much about elderly people.
Pretty grim statistic!
My mom is not wandering yet (and hopefully won’t), but her directions do get mixed up, so I know she could become disoriented if she decided to take a long walk out of view of the house.
[...] From Tender Loving Eldercare: Missing children grab headlines, but missing senior citizens are far more common. In the United States there are currently more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and that figure is expected to grow to as much as 16 million by 2050. [...]
You’re sharing an important message Linda. It’s easy enough to become disoriented when everything is working fine (I’ve been lost before…) – even more so when some functions have declined. I remember growing up, my Grandmother had Alzheimer’s, and lived with us for a year or so during the early stages – while I was in high school. One minute they can remember everything, and the next it’s all forgotten – definitely easy for them to become “lost” if they somehow wander off.
Hi Vered,
Yes, I agree that our society has a bias against older people to some degree. And since we already have the Amber alert system in place, this is an easy add-on in my opinion.
Hi Lori,
I hope you’ll consider getting your Mom (and yourself) a MedicAlert bracelet or pendant before she does get lost. There is a link in my sidebar under Eldercare Resources with complete information about it (not an affiliate link). The time to do this is before anything happens. Not every dementia patient wanders, but it is better to be safe than sorry (sorry about the cliche, but it’s true). You can wrap up the bracelet and present it as a gift for her. Being her caregiver is the best gift in the world and a MedicAlert bracelet is just a small part of that gift.
Hi Lance,
Thanks for sharing. In my opinion, the early stages of dementia/Alzheimer’s is very dangerous — when the patient goes “in & out” of using their full faculties. That is such an unpredictable phase for families and we must be prepared. I’m sure you were a big help to your Grandma & family back in high school, based on what a caring person you are today.