Indy Project Lifesaver Chair	Courtney Copeland	317-833-9756	ccopeland@hsucares.com
Wayne Twp Fire Dept	Captain Michael Pruitt	317-714-5637	michael_pruitt@waynefire.org
Wayne Twp Fire Dept	Jamie Meredith	317-246-6237	Jamie_meredith@waynefire.org
Perry Twp Fire Dept	Amy Polach	317-788-4815	apolach@perryfire.com
Lawrence Twp Fire Dept	FF Joy Lorch	317-845-4933	jlorch@lawtwp.org

The following article is courtesy of the Hendricks County Flyer

New tracking system now up and running

By Amanda Roach

—    Three fire departments within Marion County are utilizing a new tracking system that assists rescuers in locating and aiding people with autism, dementia, Alzheimer’s, or other diseases. It’s called Project Lifesaver.
Wayne Township Capt. Mike Pruitt of Station 884 said the idea for participating in the Virginia-based program came about two years ago when a young boy with autism drowned in a Franklin Township pond. Pruitt said it was the firefighters of Perry Township who sought out Project Lifesaver for their coverage area. Now, both Wayne and Lawrence townships have joined the program.
Established as an initiative for the 43th Virginia Search and Rescue Company of the Chesapeake, Va., Sheriff’s Department in 1999, “Project Lifesaver has become one of the leading organizations addressing the need to protect patients (Alzheimer’s, Down Syndrome, and Autism) and bring comfort to their families and caregivers,” explained the program’s website, projectlifesaver.org.
Pruitt explained that patients with these disabilities are first interviewed to see if they qualify for the program. If they qualify, the patients are outfitted with a transmitter bracelet that tracks their whereabouts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“This is a baby-sitter for parents and caregivers,” Pruitt said. “It just gives them comfort of mind.”
If a patient wanders off or runs away, Pruitt said the parent or caregiver calls the fire department and they come to begin tracking the patient. The transmitter bracelet the patient wears actually emits a signal that firefighters can hear with their equipment, ultimately a mile away on the ground and about two to five miles in the air.
However, Pruitt said it also depends on the type of environment they are working in as to how effective the signal will be. In order to work through this, firefighters of Station 884, Wayne Township’s urban search and rescue crew, performs their training in different locations like within the city or in Eagle Creek Park.
Searching for a patient by air, gives the firefighters a much broader distance to search. Pruitt said the firefighters have teamed up with the Indiana State Police Air Operations Team.
Together, these two organization work to track patients with the program.
“Having this program is a huge starting point when someone goes missing,” Pruitt said.
Pruitt pointed out that every year there always seems to be a story about an Alzheimer’s patient who has wandered away from the hospital, and usually they are not found alive. According to nationwide statistics on the program, the time it takes to recover a patient by using Project Lifesaver is less than 30 minutes, with a 100 percent track record of patients being recovered. Pruitt said firefighters are helping to raise the money for the bracelets by seeking donations from the community and hosting fundraisers.
For more information about Project Lifesaver, visit the website at projectlifesaver.org or call Pruitt at 714-5637.