A clarion call to elevate Nassau’s Alzheimer’s response

A first-of-its-kind nationwide study by the Alzheimer’s Association revealed that approximately one-eighth of the senior citizens living in Nassau County are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. This distressing revelation illustrates that our county is among the localities most heavily impacted by a horrific and heartbreaking disorder that robs its victims of their memory and cognition. I have witnessed firsthand the heartbreak and devastation that cognitive illnesses like Alzheimer’s bring to our community.
In November 2021, Chesnel Veillard, a resident of New Cassel who suffered from dementia, wandered from his home. I first learned of Mr. Veillard’s disappearance and condition when his daughter, Sendy, who had worked as an intern in my office, called to ask for help in finding him. Tragically, Chesnel died after he wandered onto railroad tracks and was struck by a train. His death was devastating to his family and his neighbors in New Cassel. As we approach two years since it happened, I remain as convinced as ever that his death was preventable.
A key stated purpose of the Alzheimer’s Association study was to provide resources and data to local municipalities that can guide them in apportioning and allocating resources to optimally serve and protect their constituents. The fact that approximately 31,300 Nassau seniors have been identified as suffering with Alzheimer’s must be a clarion call for local leaders to marshal the necessary resources to aid this sizable — and likely growing — population of at-risk adults.
Nassau County currently utilizes Project Lifesaver, in conjunction with its Silver Alert System, to help safely return cognitively impaired people who have wandered away from caregivers. This internationally regarded search-and-rescue program is a powerful tool for protecting the safety and welfare of impaired individuals. Under the current county program, however, participants must pay $325 to enroll, and that can make access to this potentially life-saving resource cost-prohibitive for working-class families.
To address this gap, I authored and sponsored legislation, introduced in January 2022 and refined and refiled last September, to create the Chesnel Veillard Program, an initiative in which the county would fund cost-free access to Project Lifesaver for clinically eligible people and families whose household income is less than $76,050 per year.

To maximize the benefits of the Project Lifesaver technology, anyone who enrolled in the Chesnel Veillard Program would also be entered in the county’s Return Every Adult and Child Home, or REACH, registry, a database of children and adults with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other conditions that potentially limit their ability to communicate. The Veillard program is designed to serve income-eligible people who do not currently live in a nursing home, long-term care facility, Alzheimer’s special-care unit, or similar facility that would have programs in place as part of its operation to protect cognitively vulnerable residents.
Increasing the use of Project Lifesaver would help law enforcement and first responders more quickly locate cognitively vulnerable individuals who wander, which would simultaneously save taxpayer resources and give families the peace of mind they need. Not only would the Veillard program proactively aid in safeguarding vulnerable Nassau residents, but its implementation would also be the embodiment of the wise stewardship of municipal resources.
As of this writing, the measure has not been brought to the floor by the legislative majority for a public hearing or vote. This delay in acting on a cost-effective, common-sense proposal to protect our most vulnerable citizens is truly regrettable. Yet I remain hopeful that the findings of the Alzheimer’s Association’s rigorous nationwide study will spur my colleagues into action so that we can adopt this measure next month, which, as it happens, is World Alzheimer’s Month.
The crisis of Alzheimer’s is already here in Nassau County, and I anticipate that the number of our residents suffering from this and other debilitating cognitive ailments will only grow in the coming years. Now is the time to take decisive, proactive action so that we can bring comfort to those who are already suffering, and prepare ourselves to respond to future needs.

Siela A. Bynoe, of Westbury, has represented Nassau County’s Second Legislative District since 2014.