| Project Lifesaver | |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) non-profit organization |
| Purpose: | Provides care givers and first responders "with a program designed to protect, and when necessary, quickly locate individuals with cognitive disorders who are prone to the life threatening behavior of wandering". |
| Leader Name: | Gene Saunders |
| Leader Title: | Founder CEO |
| Headquarters: | Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S. |
| Region: | Australia (coming soon), Canada, United States |
Project Lifesaver International is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation founded in October 1998, by Chief Gene Saunders, in association with, the Chesapeake, Virginia Sheriff's Office.[1] The organization was formed to develop a program for locating missing persons with dementia, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, autism, Down syndrome and other disabilities.[2] [3] [4] The program involves attaching a radio transmitter device to the wrist or ankle of persons at-risk of wandering.[5] The battery operated radio transmitter is attached with a wristband and emits an inaudible pulse once per second, in the FCC allocated and licensed 216 MHz frequency range, that can be picked up by a receiver operated by public safety officers. Project Lifesaver utilizes radio frequency tracking technology, which is tested by member agencies before being approved for field use.[6] [7]
As of March 2023, another milestone was reached with over 4,000 rescues[8] in an average time of less than 30 minutes, normally using only two to three public safety responders.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]