UPDATE - Wednesday, September 9th, 2015

Update on the Silver Alert:

The provincial government has chosen an education approach to 'prevent' wandering. At 1:43 in this interview with CTV (video), Isobel Mackenzie, the Senior's Advocate, "insists it's up to loved ones to do their part". So, it's up to the families to deal with it...

When my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, we researched and was well educated with the different stages of Alzheimer's and wandering. Wouldn't you expect that from a family who has someone with Alzheimer's in the family? The 'either or' and one sided approach by the government is not the solution, and really ignores the issue of wandering. We did everything we could to prevent my dad from wandering. Much like, you can do everything to try to prevent certain illnesses, but some still get diagnosed. Even with all this education and prevention, Alzheimer patients will still wander. What happens when Alzheimer patients walk out the door? What strategies has the government put into place in order to help find someone who wanders? Answer: NOTHING. There needs to be balanced strategy for wandering. The education approach by the government is simply ignoring the issue of wandering and having families to deal with it on their own. Alzheimer's is not going away and neither is wandering, so the Silver Alert needs to be further examined.

In a recent article by the Tri City Now, Port Moody-Coquitlam MLA Linda Reimer provided statements against the Silver Alert:

1) “She (Linda Reimer) suggested some of the concerns are that the Silver Alert would take away from the Amber alert used in for cases of missing children and some families don't want their loved one's faces in public.“

My response: I don't find any substance to this argument. Is there research done to back up these claims? We didn't like to blast our father's photo in the community, but we knew we had to do this in order to increase our chances of finding him. I encourage the government to further elaborate on these concerns, and provide studies and data to back up these claims. The U.S.A have overcome these concerns and 36 states, have a Silver Alert Program with a high retrieval rate.

2) “She (Linda Reimer) noted there are other programs in place including one that has the Alzheimer Society of BC teaming up with RCMP and the Canadian Medic Alert Foundation for a program called Safely Home.”

My response: I commend the government for this program. My father was part of this program. However, members of the public and even the RCMP brought him home, unaware of him having Alzheimer's even with the Medic Alert Bracelet. It takes a very engaged stranger to approach a stranger for their Medic Alert Bracelet.

Do I think my father would be home today if the Silver Alert was in place? Although there's no guarantee, there would have been a high probability of us finding him if the Silver Alert was issued for him. We would have received the confirmed sighting of him in Burke a lot quicker.

Unfortunately, the issue of wandering will not go away and neither will I. Alzheimer's is on the rise and within 5 years, 50% more Canadian families will be dealing with Alzheimer's. 6 in 10 people with dementia, or 450,000 Canadians, will wander at least once.

The private member's bill for the Silver Alert proposed by N.D.P Selina Robinson, was quickly shot down by the government without any research to back up the government's concerns. I agree this is a complicated issue but I'm outraged that the private members bill for the Silver Alert was instantly dismissed by the government, literally within an hour, without any research or valid claims. The discussion for the Silver Alert needs to continue. I wonder if there may be political reasons for the government not supporting the Silver Alert...

In 2014, the Ministry of Health donated $4 million to the Alzheimer's Society in new funding for the expansion of the First Link® program to more communities across the province by 2018. 4 million!!!? versus $50,000 to implement the Silver Alert? By the way, we already have the technology in place for the Silver Alert.

The only tool that currently exists to help find an Alzheimer's patient is the online B.C Silver Alert BcSilverAlert.ca, an online social media tool. This is funded solely by donations. Not a dime was given by the government to fund this, although the BC Silver Alert has been very receptive by social media. The online B.C Silver Alert issued 35 alerts within the first year of it being launched on social media platforms. 34 Alzheimer patients were reunited with their families. I realize there currently isn't a way to track how these people were found, but we've had reports in one particular case that someone knew an Alzheimer patient was missing after seeing a post on social media. The Alzheimer patient was found as a result.

The technology already exists for the Silver Alert, the public is clearly wanting to help, and the media is very responsive, so I encourage the government to further examine implementing the Silver Alert.

I encourage you to write Linda Reimer and Minister Terry Lake and ask them to further elaborate on their concerns and to show your support for the Silver Alert. My mission is to save future families dealing with Alzheimer's the turmoil and anguish of looking for a loved one. The issue of wandering is NOT going away.

Please join me and write and email:

Linda Reimer

130 Brew St #203, Port Moody, BC V3H 03E

Email:

Minister Terry Lake 618-B Tranquille Road

Kamloops, BC

V2B 3H6

Email:



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