Care Trak coming to Fayette

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Care Trak coming to Fayette

Fayette is the first county in the state of Georgia to offer Care Trak to its community, thanks to Captain Bill Riley of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, Aviation Unit, who read about the state-of-the-art device in a police magazine.

Care Trak is a wrist device, similar to a wrist watch, that enables law enforcement agencies to track patients that wander away. Patients that qualify for usage could have Alzheimer's disease, autism or Down's Syndrome. The success rate is phenomenal; of the 1,117 patients nationwide, all but one was found alive and within 30 minutes from the time the call for help was received.

Trained instructors are able to track on the ground up to one mile, but tracking from the air is limitless. If a patient has been reported missing for 30 minutes, a helicopter is sent out to search.

"So far, Care Trak is absolutely foolproof," said Riley. "The sad thing is not everyone has it."

Riley is looking for donations to provide Care trak to those that may not be able to afford it. The initial cost of the wrist device is $263. This includes the wrist device, a transmitter tester and a log for the caregiver to record information each day. Each month an instructor will check on the patient, change the battery and the strap for a fee of $25 per month.

If you know anyone that needs Care trak, please contact Captain Riley at 770-716-1914. He will also be available to answer questions Oct. 2 at the fifth annual Southern Crescent Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Peachtree City. For more information about the Memory Walk, go to www.southernmemorywalk.org or call Fred Brown at 770-487-8397 or Iola Snow at 770-486-6991.