Community partnership brings Project Lifesaver to Columbus

COUMBUS- Columbus Community Hospital, the Columbus Police Department, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Public Schools have announced a new public safety program designed to protect at-risk community members.

Project Lifesaver is a non-profit organization that provides law enforcement, rescue personnel and caregivers with a way to protect and quickly locate individuals prone to roam away. This could include someone with autism or Alzheimer’s disease. People enrolled in the program wear a personalized wristband that sends a tracking signal to an assigned radio frequency each second, 24 hours a day. If an enrolled person goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local Project Lifesaver agency, and a trained emergency team responds to the wanderer’s area. The signal helps reduce the time, cost and support needed for a search and rescue mission.

The program will be offered to school-aged children and hope to expand it as additional funding becomes available.