A Village Just for People with Dementia!
The video below by CNN describes a special village in the Netherlands designed for people living with severe dementia. It's 24 minutes long but very moving and well worth watching. (If you already know a lot about dementia you can skip the last third.)
I sure wish my mother, Judy, had had such a place to live in--where she could move freely around a neighborhood that looks like a real neighborhood, shop in grocery stores on her own or with a caregiver (no prices, no money!), get her hair cut in a "real" beauty shop, and be surrounded by staff who are trained to communicate with a person with a cognitive impairment. In the past three years since my mother died, I have heard about these villages, but I had never seen a video. I'm happy today to share this one with you.
Such alternatives to traditional assisted living and nursing home care are the future of dementia care--and elder care in general. How could this kind of village become a reality in your town, your city, your neighborhood? Let's think big!
Martha