SOUTH HADLEY — The South Hadley Police Department has launched a new program that employs radio tracking technology to quickly locate and save residents who are prone to wandering off.

The department has partnered with Project Lifesaver, an international nonprofit that supplies municipalities with tracking technology and training to locate individuals at risk of wandering. The free service provides residents with cognitive disorders, from dementia to traumatic brain injuries, with a GPS radio transmitter worn on the wrist or ankle that is easily traceable if a caretaker ever reports the resident missing.

“I hope it helps (residents) feel a little bit more secure that their loved ones are in goods hands,” said Emily Tebo, the department’s community outreach officer. “It’s one of those things that we hope we never had to use, but if their loved one wanders and they have this technology, then the amount of time that we potentially would be searching for them is drastically reduced.”

Tebo said the department’s interest in this technology began after a senior resident wandered from her home, and it took several hours and many police resources to locate her. Shortly after, a member of South Hadley’s TRIAD program, which connects seniors with local police and fire departments, recommended the department research Project Lifesaver to cut down the hourslong search to minutes.

“Its far better to spend 20 minutes looking for somebody with a positive outcome rather than several hours with a position outcome,” Tebo said, “The less time we have to be searching is beneficial to the first responders in the woods and all over town.”

If a caregiver informs the police that an individual enrolled in Project Lifesaver has wandered off, first responders will search for the person with a special device that locks onto the radio transponder’s signal. The device has a range of several hundred meters. During training, Tebo and several other first responders practiced finding a Project Lifesaver instructor around town, and quickly learned how helpful the system can be.

According to data from the US Census Bureau, 22% of South Hadley’s population is 65 and older. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, six out of 10 individuals with Alzheimer’s will wander.

Yet the program is not just for seniors. As long as a South Hadley resident has an official diagnosis of a cognitive disorder, cannot drive and requires supervision of another adult, they can qualify for the program. This includes youth with autism and traumatic brain injury.

“We don’t get these calls often, but with enough frequency that if this technology is employed with those folks, it would definitely be useful,” Tebo said.

Several municipal departments and nonprofits donated funds to purchase the radio transmitters and locating devices, including the police department, South Hadley Fire Districts 1 and 2, South Hadley Board of Health, Friends of South Hadley Seniors and GeriatricNP. The program will begin with two bracelets, and expand as demand grows and more funds area allocated.

Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com.