A few years ago CNN, BBC and other networks showed the world inside Hogeway/ Dementia Village in the Netherlands. It is a village where all of the residents have dementia or Alzheimers but they have free range of their enclosed village.
The goal of is to create a safe space for people with deteriorating mental faculties to have a routine and some normalcy. The grounds and its' residents are monitored 24/7 by trained health care professionals. The village has courtyards, a grocery store, restaurants and a beauty parlor for the residents to create a routine around.
The caretakers try to make life as easy as possible. At the grocery store customers are not required to pay because everything is included in the initial entry cost. The residents are also housed in buildings that are representative of the lives they led before moving to Hogeway. Some are placed in urban-style housing while others have a more residential feel. These are all strategies in helping the residents maintain normalcy in their lives and to try and postpone the use of medicine.
The village only has one door that locks and it is the only way to get in and out of Hogeway. This ensures the residents free range of their home where they don’t have to feel trapped by locked doors.
You can watch the full CNN story below.