Silver Alert saves lives
If you’ve driven on any Wisconsin highway recently, you may have noticed the digital signs displaying an announcement for a Silver Alert. The Silver Alert program is a new statewide resource to protect Wisconsin’s seniors. Silver Alerts will go out by email, text message or fax through the Wisconsin Crime Alert Network to notify the public that an adult with Alzheimer’s, dementia, or other permanent cognitive impairment is missing.
I am proud to serve as the ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care in the State Assembly. This committee works on the important issues facing the elderly in our state.
Last session, we worked in a bipartisan manner on the Silver Alert legislation. We heard moving testimony from people who had experiences with an elderly family member going missing due to a cognitive issue. I’m sure many of you have a personal story about an experience like this. My grandmother once went missing for hours due to dementia. Thankfully, she was found, but the Silver Alert program could have saved valuable time during this period of crisis.
The Silver Alert program was unanimously approved by both the Assembly and Senate. It was signed into law in 2014 and went into effect in August. This common-sense measure will help to keep family members safe and increase communication between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Silver Alert legislation has been effective in other states where it has been passed. In North Carolina, 128 Silver Alerts were issued in the first year of implementation. Of these, 118 seniors were safely recovered.
According to the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin, at least 116,000 people with dementia reside in Wisconsin, and approximately 60 percent will wander at some point as their condition progresses. If not found within 24 hours, up to half of wandering seniors with dementia suffer serious injury or death. We owe it to our seniors and their families to provide the security of knowing there are mechanisms in place should someone go missing.
As I continue my work on the Aging and Long-Term Care committee, I am confident this legislation will help Wisconsin seniors and save lives.