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By Greg Bartlett

An all too common news story appears on the television or in the newspaper. An elderly parent has wandered off from home and can’t be found. Too often this story ends in tragedy. The elderly parent is found dead due to exposure to the elements. The truly sad part of this story is that it is completely avoidable. The question of where did dad go can be answered with a GPS tracking device for the elderly.

As people age, an often unfortunate consequence is diminished mental faculties. This can be a result o Alzheimer’s disease or any number of other problems that afflict the elderly. The elderly person can leave home with a specific destination in mind and loose their way, become confused and not be able to find their way home. This confusion often ends with tragic results.

In today’s society, the cost of nursing home or extended care facilities may be beyond the reach of the average family. Additionally the family may feel that they want to care for the elderly parent themselves. This home based extended care, while at best difficult at times, fulfills the families need to provide for the parent.

Personal GPS tracking devices provide the exact location of the elderly when they leave home. When the elderly parent is taken to the local Senior Center for interaction with people of their own age, there is no guarantee that they will stay there. The possibility of them wandering away is always a possibility.

Should they wander away, there is also the possibility that their being absent could not be noticed by one of the attendants at the Senior Center. Providing a GPS tracking device to the elderly parent will allow the position of the parent to always be known. Knowing exactly where the parent is will minimize inattention by care givers. Should the elderly parent decide to walk to the corner store, there is the possibility that they could become disoriented and wander away. The utilization of a GPS tracking device will always allow them to be located.

Loosing a parent is always traumatic for the children. Should the parent become lost and die because they could not find their way back home simply increases the trauma. This trauma is completely avoidable through the utilization of a GPS tracking device that is in the possession of the elderly parent. Should the elderly parent become disoriented and lost, their position can easily and quickly be identified and the children can recover the parent with no harm coming to the parent.