On a recent weekday afternoon, work crews in Langley, B.C., just east of Vancouver, were putting the finishing touches on a new gated community that some say could “set a new standard” for how we care for some of society’s most vulnerable: those living with dementia.
“There are lots of different things occurring right now — they’re trying to find the sweet spot, the ideal model,” says Colin Milner, founder of the International Council on Active Aging. “I’m not sure we’re there yet.”Today, more than half a million Canadians live with dementia — the catch-all term for the decline of cognitive and social functioning caused by Alzheimer’s disease and other brain disorders. That number is expected to almost double over the next 15 years.
Interventions are similarly wide-ranging. In the early stages of dementia, it can start with placing a GPS tracker on a loved one in case they wander. It might progress to hiring a part-time care aide to help that person bathe or go for walks. In the advanced stages of dementia, most families will turn to long-term care options because the demands are too overwhelming.
As the dementia progressed, her mother lost her motor skills, which affected her speech. She also became increasingly agitated and confused when day turned into night — a condition known as “sundowning.” She would get up in the middle of the night and sometimes fall. In Ohio, the Lantern Group has built three assisted-living and dementia-care complexes whose interiors replicate small American towns from the 1930s and 40s. In the residential corridor, entrances to each room look like the facades of a house and include porches with rocking chairs. A simulated blue sky, plants, water features and carpeting meant to mimic grass are all designed to create a serene environment.
“In the evenings some of our gentlemen can get unsettled and agitated,” clinical lead Dawn Griffith told Wales Online. “They think they’ve finished their shift for the day and they are of the generation where they would go to the pub for a pint with their friends after work. We thought, ‘what better way to help them than to get a pub on the ward?’”
Project leader Elroy Jespersen has spent the past three decades building seniors living facilities, but this is his first project specifically for people with dementia.
This truly is a lovely idea, it really is, but in an era where we can't afford most of what we have now, and interest groups are clamoring for more, just how do we pay for it in addition to everything else we want?
About time. Every province should have one!
nice, but should be based on life experience not just look nice. if you lived in a village might prompt memories, but probably not if you lived in town or city.
So depressing what happens to people with dementia. Our Federal Government needs to throw in support for these institutions. These are citizens who have contributed tax dollars. The Federal Government has an enormous responsibility for the homeless all around the country.
So, when does the Green Party move in?
I hope this becomes the standard of care coast to coast.
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