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Launched today, the Alzheimer’s Association Comfort Zone™, powered by Omnilink, is the first comprehensive location management system designed specifically for Alzheimer’s, giving people with the disease more freedom and independence in their community while providing their family some peace of mind. Comfort Zone is a Web-based application that works with various location devices throughout the progression of the disease to proactively communicate the location of the person with Alzheimer’s within two to 30 minutes, based on the family’s selected plan. Comfort Zone also offers families assistance with 24/7 monitoring center services and access to emergency health records from the MedicAlert Foundation.

“We are particularly excited about Comfort Zone because for the first time, we have technological device that is reliable and easy to use,” Catherine James, Alzheimer’s Association, Chief Executive Officer, said. “Comfort Zone is another level of safety that caregivers can use at home to keep an individual out of a facility and in a familiar and safe environment.”

As Americans continue to live longer, prevalence of Alzheimer’s is expected to skyrocket in state from the current number to as many as number by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association 2009 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts & Figures report. In addition to its slow, fatal progression, Alzheimer’s poses immediate safety concerns for people living with the disease and enormous challenges and stress for their 10 million family caregivers. The Alzheimer’s Association, Central New York Chapter estimates that there are more than 45,200 people in our region living with Alzheimer’s.

“As the Alzheimer’s epidemic gains momentum, the Alzheimer’s Association is committed to educating families about how to keep people with Alzheimer’s successfully in the community for as long as possible,” said Beth Kallmyer, MSW, director of Family & Information Services at the Alzheimer’s Association. “Comfort Zone is an interactive safety service that allows people with the disease to be more active and caregivers be more confident whether they are in the same house, down the street, at work or across the country.”

Comfort Zone combines the latest technology with flexibility, allowing families to change devices and plans as a person’s disease progresses and monitoring needs change. Using GPS and cellular technologies with online mapping, Comfort Zone allows the entire family to proactively determine the location of the person with Alzheimer’s. Families log into a secure, password-protected Web site similar to logging into most email systems and proactively establish safety zones. If the person with Alzheimer’s travels beyond the pre-set zones, they receive alerts via text or e-mail within 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the device and service package purchased. These zones and alerts can be adjusted to meet the family’s needs as the disease progresses. Additionally, families can determine location within two minutes by initiating a “Find Me” or a longer “Follow Me” session, which provides updates every two minutes for one hour.

“Omnilink is pleased to partner with the Alzheimer’s Association and power the Comfort Zone application,” said Wain Kellum, CEO of Omnilink. “This is a great opportunity to use our advanced location-based services platform to give families flexible care options and choices throughout the progression of the disease.”

The price of the Comfort Zone service packages varies, beginning at $42.99 a month with a $45.00 activation fee, similar to most cell phone services. For more information or to purchase Comfort Zone, visit the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/comfortzone or call 1-877-ALZ-4850 (1-877-259-4850).