<Insert government-by-gerontocracy joke here>
From Korea's ChosunBiz, November 11:
Washington, D.C. explores Dutch-style community hubs to support dignity and daily life for people with dementia
Washington, D.C., is pushing a senior care system modeled on Hogeweyk in the Netherlands, known as the world’s first “dementia village.” As dementia cases surge with an aging population, it is an attempt to shift from medical-centered care to community-based care that focuses on quality of life.
According to the Washington Post on the 10th, at the “Urban Aging Symposium” recently held in Washington, D.C., health authorities, developers and dementia experts gathered to discuss the direction of housing policy for older adults. The case that drew the most attention there was Hogeweyk. This village in the Netherlands is an innovative model that views dementia not as a disease but as “a stage of life,” designed so that residents can continue daily routines and maintain social relationships.
About 188 people with severe dementia live in 27 dwellings in Hogeweyk. Each dwelling has live-in caregivers, nurses and an activities support team, and residents cook together, tend gardens and shop at a supermarket in the village. Medical intervention is minimized, and the core is to respect the patient’s own daily life. Co-founder Eloy van Hal said, “Care is only 5% of the day, and the remaining 95% is about life and happiness.”
The model has now spread to places such as Canada and Australia, and Serenbe in Georgia has adopted a similar structure in the United States. In Washington, D.C., a plan is under discussion to include a dementia village in the city-supported redevelopment of the Fletcher-Johnson Middle School site. Developer Osama Suaidi, who leads the project, said, “Facility-centered dementia care lacked human warmth,” and noted, “If we provide quality meals, housing and social interaction, we can also reduce the burden on public health care costs.”
The nonprofit Iona Senior Services also separately proposed to the council a hybrid-style dementia village for low-income older adults. Korean American head Jun Bang requested a budget of $3 million, explaining, “The goal is a structure where people live at an adult day health center during the day and receive care in a group home at night.” The council approved only $850,000 of that, but Bang said, “Dementia is not something to fear but a reality everyone will face,” and continues to push the project.
Experts said Washington, D.C., has little choice but to consider adopting the “dementia village” model because it has the highest dementia incidence rate in the United States....
....MORE
<insert apology for gerontocracy joke here>
