Caregivers from throughout Rockland who specialize in helping senior citizens applauded Wednesday's launch of the county's new Silver Alert system, designed to speed up the safe return of at-risk adults who may wander away from their residence or care facility and become lost or disoriented.

Compared to the Amber Alert system for children, Silver Alert allows caregivers to register an at-risk adult with local police. If that adult did wander off, Silver Alert allows police to issue a detailed bulletin about that person to speed up their recovery.

The system was proposed in 2009 by Rockland County Legislator Robert Jackson of Nanuet, whose district includes neighborhoods in New City, West Nyack and Nanuet. Silver Alert was approved in October by the full county Legislature and is being coordinated through the Rockland Sheriff's Department.

Jackson said Silver Alert was inspired by the needs of Rockland senior citizens suffering from Alzheimer's disease, but he explained the program also includes all adults, 18 and older, who are also diagnosed with dementia, and developmental or cognitive impairments.

For Jackson and dozens of representatives from local caregiver organizations who met Wednesday at the county's Summit Park Hospital at the Dr. Robert L. Yeager Health Center in Pomona, the launch of Silver Alert was a very personal matter.

"My mother had dementia and we were always afraid she would wander away," said Jackson, a retired New York City firefighter.

Maria Paliotta, administrator of the New City-based Alzheimer's Association, said Silver Alert will provide needed support for a growing number of Rockland families that are coping with a loved one with Alzheimer's.

"This is not just about senior citizens," Paliotta said. "We have victims who are in their 40s and 50s. Many people in Rockland County are caring for these loved ones at home. It is a 24/7 task and safety is a paramount concern."

Jackson said the Silver Alert program has been organized with assistance from groups including the Alzheimer's Association and Triad of Rockland, a partnership of local police agencies and senior citizen organizations committed to reducing senior victimization through education, training and involvement.

Rockland County Legislature Chairwoman Harriet Cornell the Silver Alert program is recognition that Rockland has an aging population with special needs that must be addressed.

"We are at a point where soon 20 percent of the county's population will be over age 62," said Cornell, noting that an upcoming study will focus on issues such as housing and safety for this age group. "Being able to protect the vulnerable elderly is so important."

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef hailed the Silver Alert system one of several steps taken to meet the needs of Alzheimer's patients. He called the county's Alzheimer's center at Summit Park Hospital "state of the art."

Vanderhoef noted that often solutions that can help Alzheimer's victims are not complicated. For example, he said new landscaping and fencing at the entrance to Summit Park Hospital allows Alzheimer's patients to spend time outdoors without the risk of them wandering off.

The launch of the Silver Alert system was formally announced Wednesday at a gathering of the Professionals in Aging Network – known as PAM. The group is made up of individuals and organizations providing a variety of care and services to senior citizens.

Louis Falco, chief of the Rockland Sheriff's Department Police Division, said the meeting was designed to start spreading the word that caregivers should register at-risk adults for the Silver Alert program.

Falco said all of Rockland County's local police departments are participating in Silver Alert. Registration forms for Silver Alert are available at all local police stations and the Sheriff's Headquarters in New City, Falco said. Additionally, the forms can be downloaded from the Sheriff's web site, www.co.rockland.ny.us/Sheriff.

"This is a unified program between all of the police departments in Rockland," Falco said. "Once we start getting people registered, when someone goes missing we can quickly get out the necessary information that we hope will lead to a speedy recovery of the victim."

Falco explained that the information gathered in the Silver Alert registration process includes detailed background information about the at-risk person, including former addresses where the person has lived over a lifetime.

Clarkstown Police Chief Peter Noonan said his department has been involved with many cases of Alzheimer's victims who can't remember where they live, but do have memories of a childhood home. Additionally, Noonan said many Alzheimer's victims still have access to a car and can be very mobile.

"Often we will find someone in a car going to an old school of theirs," Noonan said, explaining that having fast access to detailed background information on at-risk adults can speed up their recovery.

Sheriff's Department Sgt. Tony DeColyse said the Silver Alert registration process includes a current photo of the at-risk adult. DeColyse said that with the photo and the background information, the Silver Alert system generates a poster that can be immediately distributed to police throughout the area via computer – accessible on terminals in police patrol cars.

DeColyse said caregivers are urged to register at-risk adults, however, he cautioned the system is not meant to be a record of every senior citizen. Registration includes a diagnosis from a doctor, indicating a person is an at-risk adult.

June F. Molof, director of Rockland's Office for the Aging, said Silver Alert will help ease the daily fears of families with loved one hit by Alzheimer's and other impairments.

"It's comforting to know that something like this exists," Molof said.

Jim Finn of the Triad organization said he is pleased Silver Alert provides new protections for seniors, but he said the program will make a big impact in the lives of many families coping with younger relatives affected by dementia or other memory-robbing illnesses.

"At first we were only thinking about seniors," he said. "But we realized the needs of many younger people with dementia. At 18, they can leave home."

Although the Silver Alert information is stored by police, Falco said data from the program is not accessible by the public. While the program is being coordinated by the Sheriff's Department, Falco said caregivers should submit Silver Alert registration forms and photos to the local police department where the at-risk person lives.

Registering a person for the Silver Alert program is free. Falco said there is very little cost for the program to the county because it uses existing information systems and communication networks.

The Silver Alert system, currently, is a local program that depends upon Rockland police spreading word about a missing adult to other jurisdictions. New York State does not have a statewide Silver Alert program.