Several organizations spearheaded by BAYSAR Air Search and Rescue, gathered at North Bay Police headquarters to view a promotional video created to bring more awareness to Project Lifesaver.
Project Lifesaver is a program dedicated to protecting, when necessary, quickly locating individuals with cognitive conditions that cause the life-threatening behaviour of wandering. Project Lifesaver participants wear a wristband that emits a tracking signal. The wristband is a one-ounce, battery-operated transmitter that emits an FM radio signal every second, 24 hours a day.
Bob Wood, who served as Member of Parliament for Nipissing from 1988 until 2004, has been a strong advocate for awareness about the effects of Alzheimer’s since his diagnosis in 2018 and is continuing his public service by promoting Project Lifesaver.
Wood, a former radio broadcaster, speaks and voices over the promo video.
"Here's someone that's easily recognizable, and they're in the program, and so now in the first person, Bob Wood is able to tell the public that I wear Project Lifesaver to help keep me safe and that then sends the message to everyone else, it can be good for your family too," said Stan French, BAYSAR Air Search and Rescue president.
Wood had no problem promoting the cause.
"Nobody ever sets out to have this," Wood says about his condition.
"So if I can help somebody, Hey, that's the name of the game. I'm doing okay. Mainly, I'm doing okay because my wife Carol is taking care of me."
French says about 45 individuals currently wear the Project Lifesaver bands in the North Bay region.
"We are probably the highest agency per capita signed up for the program," said French.
He adds that the majority of those wearing the bands have Alzheimer's, Dementia, or for the younger age groups, children on the Autism Spectrum.
“Project Lifesaver has made an incredible difference for the families we serve at One Kids Place. Beyond the obvious benefit of helping to keep vulnerable children safe, parents consistently share how much peace of mind the program provides them,” says Katharine Strang, Director of Development and Community Relations, One Kids Place.
“With over 30 clients in the program to date, we are deeply grateful to all the amazing groups involved in keeping our children and youth safe.”
"A Game Changer"
Jeff Warner, Inspector with the North Bay Police Service, believes Project Lifesaver is a game changer for the service.
"I can tell you that in the search for missing people, it's one of the most resource-intensive things that we do as a police service," explained Warner.
"We call out all the stops. We'll call out the emergency response team and our drone pilots, so to have somebody that's wearing a Project Lifesaver bracelet saves us a vast amount of time and resources.
"We can find people before we even have to call out the Emergency Response Team. We found people within 15 minutes of them being reported missing."
The Video
The five-minute video was produced in partnership with West Ferris Secondary School’s Media, Film, and Visual Arts class through the help of teacher Robin Bartlett.
Anyone with a family member they think would benefit from Project Lifesaver can receive a referral for the program through the AlzheimerSociety, One Kids Place, or by emailing BAYSAR directly at [email protected] or by visiting www.baysar.net.
