Washington DC

Recently I went to Washington DC to attend the Alzheimer Public Policy Forum. What an amazing trip! I went with a care provider from Anchorage and we were the "Alaskans". Everyone was so excited to meet "real live Alaskans" and we were thrilled to see what the other states are doing and the opportunities for advocacy. And my are there opportunities!

I am going to talk about each of these issues as they are so important.

Safe Return
This is a program that reunites family members when a loved one wanders or in the event of a disaster, like Hurricane Katrina.

• 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's and 60% will likely wander from home.
• In 2006, 1,425 incidents were reported to Safe Return.
• Studies show that if not found in 24 hours up to 50% of those who wander will die.
• More than 148,000 participants have been registered.
• Sine the inception 12,000 wanderers have been reunited with their families.
• 88% of the Safe Return registrants are found within the first 4 hours.
• Caregivers are also given an identity bracelet.

Guess how much the program costs a year? One million. Chicken feed in federal funding terms. Guess what program is not part of the president's proposed budget for 2008? Safe Return.

Imagine as a caregiver, being in an auto accident with your loved one. You are gravely injured and they wander off. No one would know to look for them. Having the identity bracelet informs emergency responders that there could be another victim.

Personally, I am horrified. My Dad has wandered twice, luckily I live in a small town and our neighbors know us. I have actually given our local police station a picture of my Dad and information similar to "If found please return to...." My Dad was returned within minutes once by the police and once by a neighbor. I agree that vigilance is the first line of defense, but come on while we are on duty 24/7, we do have things to do and it only takes a minute.

So please think about this and if you feel in your heart that this program should be funded, send an email, write a note, tell your representatives in Washington, DC how you feel.