New Initiative to Give Peace of Mind to Autism, Alzheimer Families

NOTE: A social media version of this release, with video and audio clips, is available at http://gov.ns.ca/news/smr/2011-04-12-Project-Lifesaver/ . Hi-res, downloadable photos will be added after the event.

Nova Scotian families with autism, Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive conditions will benefit from a new search and rescue tracking system that will increase the chances of survival for those who stray from their homes.

The province and Project Lifesaver Association of Nova Scotia today, April 12, announced federal funding of about $273,000 to help supply equipment and training for a radio frequency tracking system.

"We think immediately of James Delorey," said Ross Landry, Minister of Emergency Management. "This little boy's death affected all of us. The Project Lifesaver program will help save the lives of those enrolled if they become lost and confused."

James Delorey, 7, had autism. He died from hypothermia on Dec. 7, 2009, after spending two days outdoors in stormy winter weather, not far from his home in South Bar, near Sydney. The tragic story of James's death, and the poignant efforts of his dog, Chance, to keep him warm during the ordeal, deeply moved Nova Scotians.

The new equipment includes receivers that will be assigned to Ground Search and Rescue teams taking part in the Project Lifesaver Association of Nova Scotia program. People enrolled in the program wear small bracelet Personal Locator Units that emit coded radio signals unique to each user.

When a person with a transmitter is reported missing, a vehicle-mounted and hand-held antennae is used to scan the search area to locate the person. Most locator users are found shortly after reported missing.

There are 24 Ground Search and Rescue teams across the province, with most expected to participate in the program.

Project Lifesaver Association of Nova Scotia, the non-profit organization behind the initiative, was founded a year ago by Ron and Nancy Arenburg. The Arenburgs, volunteers with the Valley Search and Rescue Association in Cambridge, Kings Co., worked closely with community partners. The couple's involvement with search and rescue, and the fact that Ron Arenburg's late father was an Alzheimer's sufferer, motivated them to research lost-person tracking techniques and set up a local Project Lifesaver chapter.

Valley Ground Search and Rescue bought Project Lifesaver equipment for Kings County, which has worked well.

Nancy Arenburg, secretary-treasurer of Project Lifesaver in Nova Scotia, said a few people in the Annapolis Valley already have the bracelets, which give them peace of mind.

"They still have to be vigilant," Nancy Arenburg said. "But they also know that if a child with autism or a senior with Alzheimer's wanders off, the chances of locating them are excellent as a result of this program."

Funding is from the federal Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund, run by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat in the Department of National Defence.

According to the Alzheimer's Society of Nova Scotia, 15,275 Nova Scotians have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or other kinds of dementia. The Provincial Autism Centre says one in every 110 people have autism and many people with the disorder wander.