Dementia. Shifting the focus from cure to care.

Is there a better way to care for dementia patients? And what might that look like? “I think it really focuses on what’s the day-to-day life and looking at this balance between safety and freedom,” Dr. Tia Powell says. And that’s exactly what the Netherlands did when they opened up the first-ever “dementia village” where residents can live freely despite their memory loss. “Officially, it’s a nursing home, so we offer highly complex care, skilled nursing. But it does not look anything like a nursing home,” Iris Van Slooten says. The village has its own restaurant, pub, theater, and even a supermarket.

Today, On Point: Dementia. Shifting the focus from cure to care.

Listen full interview here

Guests

Iris Van Slooten, advisor at Be Advice, an advisory board of the Vivium Care Group – a care provider in the Netherlands with multiple locations for people living with severe dementia.

Dr. Tia Powell, author of Dementia Reimagined: Building a Life of Joy and Dignity from Beginning to End. Professor of psychiatry and bioethics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. (@tiapowell)

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Meg Ounsworth Steere, whose mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2013.

Emily Roberts, associate professor of interior design at Oklahoma State University, who is working on a project to repurpose closed malls in the U.S. for dementia villages.