Texas Silver Alert
May 1, 2007 by MCA
Is the passage of the Texas Silver Alert a veiled attempt to increase membership in the Alzheimer Association? Is it another HPV Vaccine? Why does it contain the restrictions on Texas residency?
The Silver Alert, passed in the Texas Senate and House. It is now requires the Governor Rick Perry’s signature to become law. Similar to an Amber Alert, it will give the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) the ability to send out a message to all law enforcement and media.
There are some restrictions. According to Texas Representative Pickett Local law enforcement agencies are required to require the family or legal guardian of the missing senior citizen to provide documentation of the senior citizen’s impaired mental condition.
The basic requirements to be issued
- person missing is 65 years of age or older
- their location is unknown
- their domicile is in Texas
- they have an impaired mental condition; and if the local law enforcement agency determines that the senior citizen’s disappearance poses a credible threat to the senior citizen’s health and safety.
The law appears not to cover missing people with Alzheimer’s or dementia under the age of 65. Apparently you would not be eligible for a Silver Alert if you were visiting Texas or if the person reporting you missing could not prove you suffered from an impaired mental condition. Is it possible a $40 registration with the Alzheimer alleviates this issue?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) could make proving the medical condition difficult.
This a great idea but there needs to be some kind of device or identifying material that the alzheimer citizens can wear to make it easier to get them identified. These type of citizens majority of the time can recall their birthdate or name. Also, they have issues with right and wrong. They can be very hard to handle when they are away from familiar surroundings. My father has Alzheimer’s and my local law enforcement agency doesn’t have anyway to identify him as having Alzheimer’s. The police were called this weekend to his home due to a neighbor behind them said he was vandalizing their property, but he honestly thought he was supposed to fix their fence to keep the livestock from getting out. He thought he was in the country. The Silver Alert should be not only for missing adults but also a way to identify the Alzheimer and Dementia citizens of Texas.
What happens if the missing person meets all the requirements except the person has recently displayed symptoms of dementia, temporary memory loss, or Alzheimer’s and they go missing before they are officially diagnosed by a Doctor of their medical condition? According to the Texas Silver Alert requirements there would be NO alert issued for this person. Even though a Dr. confirms that the missing person had scheduled Dr. appt. due to temporary memory loss symptoms. What if the person goes missing before being diagnosed by a Dr. of their medical condition?