Senior tracking system offers peace of mind

For someone caring for a parent afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or a child living with autism, perhaps there is no greater fear than having that loved one wander away from home and vanish without a trace.

Those fears probably never will go away completely, but dozens of McHenry County families soon will enjoy a new peace of mind.

Police from Huntley, Crystal Lake and the McHenry County Sheriff's department are teaming up with Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington to purchase tracking equipment that will help them quickly find special needs seniors and children who have wandered away from home.

"Statistics show that when someone wanders, it is so crucial to find them quickly, certainly within the first 24 hours," Huntley Police Chief John Perkins said. "With this technology, we can find someone usually within an hour."

The system, called CareTrak, works through a transmitter that looks like a watch worn by those who might wander. If that person vanishes, police, using a radio antenna that picks up the transmitter's signal, can quickly determine the person's whereabouts.

Police hope the system goes operational no later than the end of the year. When it does, families in need can obtain a transmitter through Family Alliance, a Woodstock-based agency that works to keep seniors living in their own homes.

Cheryl Levinson, Family Alliance's clinical director, said she does not believe there will be a limit on the number of participants. The key requirements for getting a monitor, she said, is that those in need be under 24-hour care and normally would be unable to find their way home if they wander and get lost.

"This is a wonderful thing for those families to have," she said. "It's an extra safety net."

The CareTrak equipment is being purchased with funding from Advocate, the McHenry County Mental Health Board and the Autumn Leaves senior car facility in Crystal Lake.