Holland has a special village that was created for patients with dementia and it’s a model that is attracting attention in Canada and other countries. The town, called Hogewey, has a grocery store, a theatre and a barber shop, and residents are free to roam within it. But it is for people with severe dementia and there is careful supervision.
Typically, a resident shares a house with about six others and each home has at least one health-care worker to help with assorted tasks.
Better than nursing homes
In Canada, many people with dementia are moved into nursing homes where they are confined. But some professionals think it would be better to move them away from unfamiliar clinical settings and into places that more closely resemble real life.
Lisa Loiselle is the associate director of Alzheimer research and education at the University of Waterloo and she explains the concept and its progress in Canada.
ListenIn 2012, the number of Canadians living with some kind of cognitive impairment was 747,000 and is expected to double by 2031, according to a study commissioned by the Alzheimer Society of Canada. That group says “we are facing a national crisis that requires innovative and integrated thinking to find effective solutions.”
The World Health Organization has declared dementia to be a public health priority.
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