The Atlanta Area Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and other chapters around the state are promoting enrollment in the “Safe Return” program for the memory impaired.

Enrolled individuals are provided with an identification bracelet or necklace which helps reunite them with their care givers and families if they are lost.

Safe Return is the only nationwide system designed to identify, locate and return to safety individuals who are memory impaired. Participants are registered in a national database, and identification products provide a 24-hour, toll-free number, along with connection to more than 200 Alzheimer's Association chapters across the country. The one-time registration fee is $40.

Over 2,600 individuals have been reunited with their care givers and families since the program began in 1993. Currently, an estimated 120,000 Georgians have Alzheimer's disease. For information contact the Atlanta Area Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at 404-728-1181, toll free at 888-649-7800 or www.alzatl.org

Additionally, officials from the Alzheimer's Association and state Rep. Ralph Twiggs, chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, recently met with David Saye, executive director of the Georgia Public Training Center, to encourage the inclusion of Alzheimer's-specific training in the continuing education curriculum of police and emergency personnel statewide.

The training helps them recognize and assist people with Alzheimer's disease.

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