The Town built for Dementia Patients

[mominatrix]

I think this is amazing.

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In the Netherlands, There’s an Entire Town Built for Dementia Patients
Shaunacy Ferro
filed under: architecture, cities, design, disease



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In the Netherlands, that bastion of relatively affordable, comprehensive healthcare, patients with dementia aren’t just relegated to a nursing home or a hospital. Some live in an entire town devoted to assisting aging people with extreme dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Hogeweyk, a model town outside Amsterdam run by a government-funded nursing care company, bills itself as a dementia village, and houses more than 150 people. Completed in 2009, the tiny town stretches across almost 3 acres, with 23 homes where residents can live together in groups. In addition to housing, it has most of the trappings of a normal town, including a supermarket, a cafe, a hardware store, a hair salon, a restaurant, and a theater. And because it’s a care facility, it also has a physical therapy facility and an outpatient care unit.



There are caregivers to take residents to the grocery store and help out with housework, and cooks and store employees are trained to deal with people who have severe dementia. Residents are free to stroll around town or sit around in the cafe, and nearby townspeople often pop in for a concert or street fair, adding to the facility’s sense of normalcy.

Studies find that social isolation, lack of activity, and increased depression are major issues for people dealing with dementia. Being able to perform normal, everyday activities improves the quality of life for these patients, and it helps them maintain a sense of dignity and comfort. Compared to traditional institutions, Hogeweyk gives dementia patients the chance to maintain a semblance of their independence, allowing them to come and go and socialize as they please, with enough experienced caretakers around them to ensure their safety.

It's not the only city in the region with a unique approach to caring for those with mental illness: In Geel, Belgium, residents have taken mentally ill and disabled patients into their homes as boarders for more than 700 years. Hogeweyk, for its part, has received international acclaim from health researchers and designers since its inception, and has even inspired a similar facility in Ontario, Canada.

[h/t: Twisted Sifter]

August 12, 2015 - 4:30pm


mentalfloss.com/article/67268/netherlands-theres-entire-town-built-dementia-patients

[Pom]

What a fabulous concept. Having witnessed the horribly quick decline that can happen, this sounds like an incredible idea for combating the isolation and loss of independence.

[twohearted]

Did I read that right- 3 acre "town"?

It sounds fantastic. I just don't know that town is the right word to describe it.

[twohearted]

I'm curious how they deal with sundowners or if they have a lower rate of that particular symptom.

[hopecounts]

Aug 13, 2015 13:35:00 GMT -5 twohearted said:

Did I read that right- 3 acre "town"?

It sounds fantastic. I just don't know that town is the right word to describe it.

I think they are using town to mean that it has the amenities of a town (store/theater/doctor's office/etc)

[twohearted]

Aug 13, 2015 13:47:45 GMT -5 @vicmo said:

It's a cool idea. I wonder if moving to a new place is more disruptive to some patients than staying in familiar surroundings? My grandpa came to stay with us when he was starting to noticeably decline and we all struggled with him being in a "new" place. (Not really new as he'd visited us there for 10+ years, but not as familiar as his own house.)

I think it is nice if you can stay in your own home and maintain daily activity, but I think for many families that just isn't possible. Just based on limited cases I've seen it seems with enough repetition even in some of the most severe cases new memories can be made with enough repetition.