WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Appleton’s Silver Alert Bill awaits governor’s signature

The headlines out of Olympia these days all seem to be about the budget impasse, but lawmakers came together long enough last week to create a new law that’s almost guaranteed to save Washington lives.

Bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate OK’d Rep. Sherry Appleton’s Silver Alert Bill (HB 1021), which sets up an emergency notification process to be used when seniors with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia, as well as other developmentally disabled persons over 60, go missing.

“This is about compassion, it’s about mercy, it’s about responsibility,” said Appleton (D-23rd, Poulsbo). A predictable aspect of Alzheimer’s and age-related dementia, she said, is the phenomenon of “wandering.” Confused and disoriented seniors might believe they are setting off to fulfill former obligations, such as going to work, or going home when the person is already at home.

“What these and others have in common is that a vulnerable person leaves the safety of a home or care facility and winds up alone and lost,” Appleton said. “Right now in Washington there are 200,000 elders suffering from dementia or developmental disability. Most of them, at one point or another, will wander. These are our parents and grandparents, the people who raised us and protected us. We owe it to them to take this step that 41 states already have taken.”

After it’s signed by Gov. Jay Inslee and takes effect this summer, Washington’s Silver Alert will use a number of methods, including the electronic signs found throughout Washington’s highway system, to spread the word about a person’s disappearance.