By Greg Bartlett

GPS tracking technology has found many uses in today’s society. It is used extensively as a means of vehicle tracking for fleet management, recovery of stolen vehicles, and more. GPS tracking has also proven its value for tracking people. While normally used to track criminals such as sex offenders, it can also be useful for tracking dementia patients. English authorities have launched an experiment with 20 dementia patients to see if they can be allowed more freedom.

Dementia patients are normally confined to skilled care facilities where they can be monitored 24 hours a day. In some rare cases, relatives keep them at home, but locked inside, to care for them and prevent them wandering off.

It is a proven fact that patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or senile dementia can get lost within a very short distance of their homes. Often, these individuals are not found before they die of exposure. It is not uncommon to find the individual’s body within ¼ mile of their home.

GPS tracking technology can be placed in a bracelet, a necklace pendant, an anklet, or other piece of jewelry that is routinely worn. If the dementia patient wanders off and becomes lost, it is possible to locate him/her by using a computer with an internet connection. Authorities can be notified of the location of the individual and bring him/her home unharmed.

Some family members and skilled care facilities choose to have the device set to notify them by email or text message if an individual wanders outside a prescribed radius of home. In this way, someone will be notified when the dementia patient wanders away from home. This can assure that he/she will be located and brought back before he/she becomes completely lost.

It is the hope of English authorities that wearing these GPS devices will provide the dementia patients with more freedom, allowing them to get outside sometimes. This can improve their quality of life while still providing the family with the peace of mind of knowing that their loved one cannot wander away and become lost with them unable to locate him/her.

GPS tracking has proven its value in several different ways. Vehicles can be tracked to manage expenses for fleets, recovery of stolen vehicles, and more. GPS devices are worn by certain individuals, including criminals, children, and dementia patients. English authorities have launched an experiment using GPS tracking on dementia patients who live at home to see if they can be allowed more freedom. The goal is to let them roam at will while assuring the families that should they become lost, they can be located and brought home quickly.