Bringing Loved Ones Home Again

Who: Project Lifesaver Wood County

What: Project Lifesaver Wood County, a partnership of the Pilot Clubs of Quitman, Mineola, and Winnsboro.  The national initiative uses state-of-the-art technology in assisting those who care for victims of Alzheimer’s and other brain related disorders.  Victims are fitted with a personalized radio transmitter, which allows them to be tracked should they wander from home.

The project relies on an ingenious use of radio transmitters originally designed to track animals in the wild.  Project Lifesaver’s transmitters are about the size of a quarter and are typically worn around clients’ wrists.  Depending on clients’ needs, however, the transmitter may be sewn into clothing or even tied to shoelaces.

When a caregiver reports to 9-11 that a Project Lifesaver client is missing, officials are sent to the place where he or she was last sighted.  Instead of going house to house, officials drive through nearby streets with a special receiver that detects a “chirp” sound emitted by the client’s transmitter.  As officials near the client, this chirping sounds grows louder.

History: According to Cathy Bastyr, President of the Pilot Club of Quitman, the need for Project Lifesaver came to light during a meeting of the Alzheimer's Support Group sponsored by the Pilot Club of Mineola in the winter of 2002.  With the support of the Wood County Sheriff's department and local Pilot clubs, Project Lifesaver officially entered Wood County in the summer of 2003, making it the second county in Texas to join the national program.

What Inspires Us: Nationwide, Project Lifesaver’s transmitting wristbands have bought more than 1,100 victims home in an average of 20 minutes – with no fatalities.   That compares to a normal the two days normally required to find a wanderer.  In fact, officials from the Wood County Sheriff’s Department and members of the local Pilot Clubs were able to find a Wood County citizen less than nine minutes after his family reported him missing.

Project Lifesaver gives its clients’ families “tremendous peace of mind,” says Ms. Bastyr, “because the chances of finding their loved one are so much higher.”

More information: To learn more about any of the Pilot organizations discussed above, or to inquire about enrolling yourself or a loved one in Project Lifesaver, contact BankTexas for more information.