STORIES GO HERE##################--> Program

boasts "Safe Return" for Alzheimer's patients

to families

The Atlanta Area Chapter of the

Alzheimer's Association and other chapters around the

state are promoting enrollment in the "Safe

Return" program for the memory impaired.

Enrolled

individuals are provided with an identification bracelet

or necklace which helps reunite them with their care

givers and families if they are lost.

Safe Return

is the only nationwide system designed to identify,

locate and return to safety individuals who are memory

impaired. Participants are registered in a national

database, and identification products provide a 24-hour,

toll-free number, along with connection to more than 200

Alzheimer's Association chapters across the country. The

one-time registration fee is $40.

Over 2,600

individuals have been reunited with their care givers and

families since the program began in 1993. Currently, an

estimated 120,000 Georgians have Alzheimer's disease. For

information contact the Atlanta Area Chapter of the

Alzheimer's Association at 404-728-1181, toll free at

888-649-7800 or www.alzatl.org

Additionally,

officials from the Alzheimer's Association and state Rep.

Ralph Twiggs, chairman of the House Public Safety

Committee, recently met with David Saye, executive

director of the Georgia Public Training Center, to

encourage the inclusion of Alzheimer's-specific training

in the continuing education curriculum of police and

emergency personnel statewide.

The

training helps them recognize and assist people with

Alzheimer's disease.