‘Senior Alert’ to address ‘wandering phenomenon’
The Winchester Star
Feb. 10, 2007
State Attorney General Bob McDonnell has seen the statistics indicating that Virginians are living longer. He has also noted the anecdotal evidence of a rise in what is called the “wandering phenomenon” — senior citizens with dementia or other cognitive impairments leaving their homes for no apparent reason. Just this week, a report in The Washington Post told of an 81-year-old Maryland woman who was found dead in a ravine after wandering from her Silver Spring home.
But the real reason Mr. McDonnell may have included a “Senior Alert” program in his 2007 legislative package is that his 90-year-old father suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. In his advocacy of a “comprehensive system” that would provide tools to assist local and state authorities in finding straying seniors, Mr. McDonnell said he acted more as a son than as an elected official.
The proposed program, which required no fiscal impact statement, certainly has merit. The approach is relatively simple: Once a person, 60 years of age or older and cognitively impaired, is reported missing, the State Police will be alerted and then take the lead in finding the senior citizen. A spokesman in the attorney general’s office stated that any and all costs for the program would be minimal and absorbed in-house by the State Police.
Endorsed by AARP Virginia and the Alzheimer’s Association as well as by the State Police, enabling legislation for “Senior Alert” easily passed both houses of the General Assembly. Should the bill in its final form clear the legislature, all it would require for implementation would be Gov. Kaine’s signature. It is our hope that would be forthcoming.