Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli (D-Syracuse) said the Alzheimer’s Services Act – a bill he authored that will help law enforcement, families and communities locate missing loved ones who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia – passed the Assembly (A.10265-A).

The legislation would create a “Silver Alert” system to help locate vulnerable senior citizens, a program similar to the “Amber Alert” system also authored by Magnarelli. The new “Silver Alert” system would use available technology and infrastructure, and encourages cooperation between law enforcement personnel and not-for-profit organizations regarding people with cognitive impairments like Alzheimer’s disease.

“We need to do everything we can do to make sure our elderly population is secure and safe,” Magnarelli said. “With this legislation, there will be a safety net in place for Alzheimer’s patients who unknowingly find themselves in dangerous situations away from home.”

Magnarelli said the bill would:

• release the name, photograph and physical description of the individual to the local department of aging and any other agency providing services to the individual;
• transmit the information electronically or by fax to radio stations and other media outlets serving the community;
• provide appropriate medical and other important information – with consent of the caregiver – to law enforcement and other agencies;
• dispatch the essential information over the police communication system;
• send the information to the Department of Transportation and Thruway Authority for use on highway variable message signs if there is reason to believe the individual has left the local area;
• make the best use of locator technology, including global positioning devices and the MedicAlert safe-return program; and
• help to develop an appropriate information advisory for use by physicians to alert patients and caregivers about options for care and locator technology.

Magnarelli said he introduced this legislation in response to the recent rise in cases of people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia wandering away from their homes and care facilities.

Magnarelli noted the recent story of Thelma Pina, a Syracuse woman, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. This past February, Ms. Pina traveled from her home in Syracuse to New Haven, Connecticut before she was found safely.

“This incident and others like it demonstrate the need for a ‘Silver Alert’ system,” Magnarelli said. “By enacting this law, New York would join several other states, including Illinois, West Virginia, North Carolina and Texas, in taking steps to assist families of senior citizens with locating their missing loved ones.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association of Central New York, the rate of Alzheimer’s disease has increased 25 percent since 2000 – and could continue to rise with baby boomers approaching their senior years. Over 300,000 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses, while one in eight citizens over the age of 65 and one-half of those over the age of 85 are affected by these diseases.

Magnarelli said with the incidence of Alzheimer’s increasing, it’s time New York had a system specifically designed to help locate at-risk patients who go missing so we can better protect them from hazardous situations.

The Assembly also passed legislation this week creating the “Locator Technology Advisory Council” with the specific task of evaluating and recommending the best technology to aid and assist in the locating of missing elderly persons (A.4146). The council would be comprised of public and private sector professionals from both the technology arena as well as advocacy and care of Alzheimer’s victims.

“The Amber Alert system has been very successful in helping to find missing children, and I’m hopeful we’ll see similar success from the Silver Alert system when it comes to ensuring the safety of Alzheimer’s disease,” Magnarelli said. “I urge the governor to sign this important legislation so we can give the families of those with dementia or Alzheimer’s some peace of mind that there will be help in the event that a loved one goes missing.”