Symptoms of dementia can vary greatly and can be troublesome enough that they interfere with day-to-day life.
People affected face issues with memory, communication and language, ability to focus and pay attention, reasoning and judgment, and visual perception. Often times they face problems with short-term memory.
As we read various health-related articles, we come across a few that are just a good read. This article from The Atlantic is one of them. It’s a true story of a woman in Amsterdam who worked at a nursing home and raised money during a 20-year period to make “nursing homes more livable and less of a departure from reality.”
Her vision is now a reality. The village cares for people who are categorized as having “severe cases of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.” It’s called Hogewey, dubbed “Dementia Village” by CNN, and includes a town square, theater, garden and post office ““ anything to make it feel like normal life.
Houses are decorated to match the time period when residents’ short-term memories stopped properly functioning such as the 1950s, 1970s and 2000s. This approach makes the residents feel as if they’re home. “Last year, CNN reported that residents at Hogewey require fewer medications, eat better, live longer and appear more joyful than those in standard elderly-care facilities.” We find the whole concept fascinating.
