Aviva Valparaiso hosted a lunch and learn session on Project Lifesaver on Thursday. Porter County Triad and the Porter County Sheriff’s Department also participated in the info session about the initiative. Project Lifesaver is to help first responders and families keep their loved ones safe from wandering.
“Triad works together with the sheriff's department for the safety and well-being of our seniors in the community,” said Cathy Ellis, Porter County Triad President. “ Project Lifesavers is one of the programs we do. “It is a GPS bracelet for people who may tend to wander, including seniors and children. We're able to track them down with our Project Lifesaver and help from the sheriff’s department.”
The partnership between Triad and the sheriff’s department has been tremendous. The sheriff’s department has been helping with educating people about Project Lifesaver. Along with the help of senior centers like Aviva Valparaiso, they have been able to provide info sessions like Thursday’s event.
“We've been around for over 20 years, and with the support of the sheriff's department it's wonderful,” said Ellis. “They want to get that education out there because there's not enough people that know about us. That's why we do all these little little educational groups and all kinds of different things with the senior centers to get that word out. It's so important.”
The event on Thursday was a chance for the community to learn just how helpful Project Lifesaver can be for first responders.
“The bottom line basically is this program saves lives,” said Jeff Balon, Porter County Sheriff. “Our elderly in the community sometimes suffer from Dementia, or Alzheimer's, and they're hard to sometimes keep track of all the time for their loved ones. Sometimes they may leave the house without their family knowing about it. This program helps us find those individuals in this program because the sooner we can get to these individuals that have left their home, the higher chance we have of saving their lives.”
This free program can help save the first responders time which in turn saves lives. The sheriff’s department also has a wellness division with a police social worker who can help with elderly issues.
“If any of the family and people that have loved ones that suffer from these medical issues, they can always call the Porter County Sheriff's Office at (219) 477-3000,” said Balon. “We have a police social worker named Sam Burgett that is available and is accessible for any type of elder care issues.”
For Aviva, hosting this info session is to let families have options to keep their loved ones safe even if it keeps seniors out of the senior center. The goal for Aviva is to have the seniors stay independent as long as possible.
“While we always love people coming into our facility, it's really great when our senior population has options, and they feel that they can stay in their homes longer,” said Elizabeth Summers, Memory Care Director at Aviva Valparaiso. “The goal is always to keep them as independent as possible. Programs like this allow them to stay where they're most comfortable and prevent them from having to come into care sooner than then they have to.”
For more information about Aviva Valparaiso, go to avivavalparaiso.com.