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Continuing its longstanding support for Alzheimer's Disease research,
caregiving, and healthy aging, MetLife Foundation is partnering with the
Alzheimer's Association to promote the Safe Return® program, to help combat
the problem of senior wandering.
Safe Return is an identification, support, and enrollment program working
at the community level to provide assistance for a person with Alzheimer's
disease or related dementia who wanders off and becomes lost, either locally
or far from home. Safe Return was developed in 1993 by the Alzheimer's
Association, and boasts a 98 percent success rate in cases involving wandering.
"Wandering is a frightening and potentially life-threatening behavior
for those with Alzheimer's," said Robert Benmosche, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of MetLife. "As more individuals are diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease, people need to be made aware of this life-saving
and important program."
Studies have shown that up to 60 percent of people with Alzheimer's disease
will begin to wander; many do so repeatedly. If not found within 24 hours,
up to half will suffer serious injury or death. Safe Return will provide
assistance 24 hours a day, every day, whether a person is lost or found.
Since its inception, Safe Return has helped facilitate more than 10,000
safe returns. Last year, more than 3,000 wandering incidents were reported
to the program.
With the $250,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association
will award outreach funding to select chapters and their regional offices
to promote Safe Return. These chapters will work to identify collaborative
opportunities to educate and engage audiences to build awareness of the
wandering issue and Safe Return. The techniques developed may then be
used to broaden the outreach programs of other chapters nationally.
"Since its inception, we've seen quite positive results with Safe Return,
but feel strongly that greater outreach will allow us to make a difference
in the lives of many more families," said Kathryn Kane, Senior Vice President
of Brand Management and Marketing at the Alzheimer's Association. "We're
proud of the fact that the Safe Return program can boast of over a 98
percent success rate."
MetLife is committed to Alzheimer's disease research, caregiving, healthy
aging, and the importance of maintaining brain health. Each year, MetLife's
CEO presents the MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer's
Disease to the nation's foremost scientists, and has awarded nearly $10
million in grants through its Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer's
Disease program. In addition to its work with the Alzheimer's Association,
the Foundation funds numerous other aging initiatives with the American
Society on Aging, including MindAlert, which helps older adults maintain
and improve their cognitive skills. The Foundation also supports the National
Council on Aging, as well as the Harvard-MetLife Foundation Initiative
on Retirement and Civic Engagement to expand the contributions of older
people in civic life, among other things. Recently, the Foundation was
the sponsor of The Forgetting, an Emmy-winning primetime PBS documentary
and outreach program on the disease.
MetLife Foundation was established in 1976 by MetLife to carry on the
company's longstanding tradition of community involvement and contributions.
The Foundation supports education, health, civic and cultural programs
throughout the United States. For more information, visit MetLife Foundation's
web site at www.metlife.org. |
