The Crystal River Health and Rehabilitation Center, a long-term skilled care and rehabilitation facility located at 136 Northeast 12^th Avenue in Crystal River, Florida, has acquired and will distribute Human Scent Preservation Kits to all of its clients in the coming months.

Usually referred to as a “Scent Kit,” the Human Scent Preservation Kit is a reliable and inexpensive way to capture and retain a pure human scent to assist scent-tracking Bloodhounds in the event that someone with Alzheimer’s or dementia wanders and becomes lost.

A thousand kits are currently being distributed to elders and their caregivers throughout Citrus County.  The program was made possible by a grant from the Black Diamond Foundation to the non-profit Find-M Friends, an organization that trains Bloodhounds to assist law enforcement agencies in the search for individuals who have gone missing.  Find-M Friends President Linda Boles says, “Possession and use of a Scent Kit can be the difference between life and death.”

In joining the Scent Kit distribution campaign, Crystal River Health and Rehab Administrator Peter Misura states, “We are excited to become the first skilled nursing facility in Citrus County to participate in the Scent Kit program by giving a free kit to the families of each of our residents with Alzheimer’s or dementia.  In this way, we can participate in their safety even after they have left our care.”

Because Human Scent Preservation Kits are so effective in tracing elders with memory issues who have wandered and become lost, Find-M Friends has partnered with the Inverness-based Coping with Dementia LLC for the distribution of the kits.  Coping with Dementia LLC President Debbie Selsavage will provide training to Crystal River Health and Rehab’s staff on proper use of the kits.

Boles and Selsavage have set up distribution centers throughout the county where kits can be picked up free of charge.  For additional information and a list of distribution locations, call Boles at 352-613-3486 or e-mail found@findmfriends.org; or call Debbie Selsavage at 352-422-3663 or e-mail deb@coping.today.