Project Lifesaver does exactly that

By CODY DALTON
cody@southwesttimes.com



A program that has been in Pulaski County since 2002, but not known or used by many has the ability to save the lives of many.

Project Lifesaver, which was established in 1999 internationally, helps to aid those patients with medical conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and Autism. In 2002, the Town of Pulaski Police Department wrote in a request for the $3,000-$5,000 grant that is given to help start the program locally. It was accepted shortly thereafter.
Even though the program has been in the county for eight years now, it is not being utilized. Andy Anderson, who is Training Coordinator for the Police Department, hopes people will become aware of the program and utilize all it has to offer.

“For the past couple of years, we have had the program,” Anderson said. “There has only been one person in the county that is on the program. There is nobody inside the town who is on it. I think it is because people don’t think we have the program or know that it exists.”

Those who are in the program pay $25 a month, which covers the cost of some of the equipment used. However, the program does have an income based option, which could drop that number drastically.

Each month, someone will come to the home of the person wearing the device and check to see if the battery is properly working. If it is not, the battery is swapped out for a different battery that works. The device itself is waterproof and it fastened so that it cannot be removed.



Training was conducted with the Town of Pulaski Police Department, Sheriff’s Department, and Fire Department on Thursday to help train eight new members for certification and five current members for re-certification. The reason for the certification was because of the recent change in the equipment from analog to digital last month.

“We had in classroom training for three hours from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and more on hands training that followed,” said Charles Ratcliffe, an officer with the Virginia Tech Police Department who recently left the force in Pulaski. “Basically, they have to find three of the transmitters to complete the course.”

With his experience at Virginia Tech, Ratcliffe explained that the program has continued to grow in other counties that surround Pulaski.

“It is really big in Montgomery County,” Ratcliffe said. “They have a lot of people that are on it. The counties surrounding here –Montgomery County, Town of Pulaski, and Galax – are some of the areas that are on the program.”

For more information about the program, you can visit www.projectlifesaver.org. If you wish to enroll in the program, contact Lt. Andy Anderson at 540-994-8677.