What exactly is a Dementia Village?
This was precisely my question when I first visited Weesp, Netherlands - just a short [by Canadian standards] train ride from Amsterdam.
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This was precisely my question when I first visited Weesp, Netherlands - just a short [by Canadian standards] train ride from Amsterdam.
What I encountered was a regular, nondescript, low-rise structure in the middle of a quaint residential neighbourhood. As I entered, I was welcomed by the lively indoor/outdoor environment.
People were going about their day, some enjoying the nice weather and basking in the sun, a small group chatting over beer, the market was busy with people coming and going with their grocery cards, multi-generational families dining at the restaurant, and an occasional avid gardener tending to their plants.
Nowhere did I see people in scrubs or any medical equipment that would signal I was, in fact, in a healthcare facility that delivers highly specialized care to those who can no longer live at home independently. I was later told that such things do exist, but they are all “backstage”, out of sight, so they don’t produce unnecessary anxiety and disruption to daily living. The goal was to deinstitutionalize care and create an experience that resembles life in one’s home and community.
Join me as I sit down with Eloy van Hal, Senior Advisor and Founder, The Hogeweyk. We discussed where the concept of “dementia village” originated from and what the philosophy is behind the approach. Here in Canada and in much of the western hemisphere, we are facing a growing aging population, and many organizations are examining ways in which care is provided. Eloy van Hal and his colleagues at Be Advice have been busy consulting around the world, sharing their experiences of doing something that, at first, appears to be radical but in fact should be a normal human experience. Hint: It’s very simple, yet extremely difficult to do. At the Hogeweyk, which is a nursing care institution, they have successfully deinstitutionalized care. We will share a series of videos from our discussions with Eloy, and we hope you join us.
Eloy and I sat down for this interview in Comox, BC, where the Be Advice group has consulted with Providence Living on aspects of the dementia village model of care. For those of you new to us, Providence Living at the Views is Canada’s first publicly funded long-term care village and a home to all, not just residents with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and dementia. This is why the Conconi Family Foundation has funded Providence Living and the Center for Advancing Health Outcomes to adapt the dementia village concept for the Canadian and BC contexts, and to ensure it functions as a home for all.
Stay tuned for episode 2.
All my best,
Sanja
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