PROJECT LIFESAVER BANNER

Acting Sheriff Shaun Golden unveiled the new Project Lifesaver banner at the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, 50 East Main Street, Freehold. The banner highlights the lifesaving capabilities of the Project Lifesaver program that uses radio signals to track individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders such as autism and Down syndrome when they wander and become missing.

Project Lifesaver banners were made available to all twenty-one county sheriffs by a partnership of the Sheriffs’ Association of New Jersey and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. New Jersey was the first state in the nation to voluntarily offer the Project Lifesaver program through its twenty-one county sheriff’s offices. Project Lifesaver began in Monmouth County in 2003 for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, and expanded in 2007 to include people with autism and other illnesses that may cause them to wander. Monmouth County currently has thirty adults and fifty-three Autistic children on the Project Lifesaver program.

Since implementation, Monmouth County has had seven rescues of individuals who have wandered, all under thirty minutes, the fastest in nine minutes,” said Acting Sheriff Shaun Golden. “This is truly a lifesaving opportunity for families with loved ones whose illness causes them to wander.”

Applications for the program are obtained from the Monmouth County Office on Aging from Barbara Rutan. Applicants are processed, qualified and then forwarded to the Sheriff’s Office for installation of the Project Lifesaver wristlet and family training on how the system operates.

For information about Project Lifesaver, contact Undersheriff Ted Freeman at 732-577-5748.