Inside Canada's first dementia village

More than 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia and that’s expected to double every 20 years.

And how we care for our loved ones with cognitive decline is critical. The New Reality gained access to Canada’s first dementia village in Langley, British Columbia and spoke with the founder of the world’s first dementia village in The Netherlands.

As Farah Nasser reports, this type of person-centered care allows people with dementia to live their lives as they deserve to – with freedom and dignity.

#GlobalNews #thenewreality

[becs]

$8-10, 000 a month! That is heatbreaking that it costs that insane amount to give some one a sense of dignity, respect, and quality of life.

[cineselena]

This needs to become government subsidized - this offers so much more dignity for people but it’s so unfortunate how unaffordable it is currently (not the village fault) - this is definitely the direction old age care needs to go - kudos for them building this! Makes me proud to be local to it ♥️

[staceygrahame]

The man who founded this place in Canada is so full of love and compassion. You can see it all over his face. He’s passionate about helping people maintain their dignity and freedom. Everyone needs an angel like him. 🙏🏻❤

[Momma_Gee]

Alan's moment of clarity at the end of the clip and his little "Well, thank you" broke me. So sweet.

[carisaunders]

Im so glad to hear of this! Scandinavian countries have had similar villages for years. Such a simple, sensible way to think of seniors with dementia.

[biscottiluigi]

We should all be as lucky as Alan to have such a caring friend.

[cwayzums]

“We’re gonna have this new person that comes in everyday…” that is the best way to explain that to someone who has dementia.

[Tatubabyyy]

I worked for years as a caregiver for the elderly and patients with dementia. They feel scared and lost and need companionship and small things that make life feel normal. They’re struggling, it’s hard to be an adult for over 50 years and suddenly you don’t remember certain things and lose skills you once had. They lose sense of who they are and it’s hard. This is so nice, I really hope going forward our community shows more care toward the elderly and people with dementia. Patience and kindness is what they need.

[joymelton-bollen]

This is beautiful! When my father's dementia progressed, my sons put another deadbolt on the door and took away all tools, weapons, etc...one morning my mother heard my dad rumbling around in the living room, but knew he couldn't get out of the house, so she wasn't too concerned, until the alarm went off from the door opening, she jumped up and found my Dad holding the deadbolt in his hands, he had removed it with a pair of fingernail clippers and manicuring scissors, my Dad was an Engineer in multiple fields, he told her someone was trying to keep them in the house, but it was OK, they could get out, now!!! Both of my parents are now gone, my brother, also. It gets really hard somedays...love your parents, people, love your family, our time is actually fleeting.

[shari]

This is how senior living should be, when people get stuck in some hospital setting nursing home they just deteriorate mentally, physically and emotionally and their health declines rapidly . The cost of $8k-$10k a month is absolutely disgusting and criminal .
smdh

[betweenthepoles]

Alan is such a good example of the curse of dementia. It hurts to see such an interesting, active, live-life-to-the-fullest person who has been stripped of almost everything that made him the person he is… was. It has even taken his ability to communicate, comprehend his surroundings, or display emotion. My aunt is also such a person. She has senile dementia and it is really hard to see her now. She was a high school teacher and department head with a degree from the University of Chicago. She spoke three different languages and even after retirement took all kinds of enrichment classes. She played with two pinochle groups and two bridge groups, worked one day a week at the senior center, sang in the choir and walked to church every day until she was 95 years old. Now she sits in a wheelchair, mostly sleeping. She thinks she is still living at home. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s and my aunt was always terrified it would happen to her. The blessing in all this is that she doesn’t realize her condition and is very happy all the time.

[christicat]

My grandmother died in 2019 from vascular dementia and Alzheimer's.. I remember seeing the village in Amsterdam and would cry because we didn't have anything like that near the US. I am so glad that this kind of care is being implemented more.. Thank you

[vickiezimmer]

I absolutely love this concept but am heart broken because of how many people will not be able to be placed into facilities like this simply because they or their families cannot afford it.

[deborahcabot]

This is a wonderful concept that with an aging population our federal, provincial and municipal governments should be looking at encouraging and funding facilities like these.

[ariesluv]

This is such an amazing concept that should be adapted all over the world. Just imagine how much less stress caretakers and family members could feel with their loved ones living in an environment like this.

[mnmlst]

Omg I'm 40 and I don't have dementia, but as an autistic person with ADHD and seeing how much it has negativity impacted my life, I would love to live in a place like this.
It's nice to see it has improved other people's lives.

[EndoftheBeginning]

I spent several months in a hospital recently and many of my roommates were dementia patients that had hurt themselves. Most commonly it was falling down stairs because they'd be using their walker and be going to get the door and not remember that they had stairs to decend and they would often crack their hip.

From the looks of it the homes are all single story, the sidewalks are wide, the community is gates so no one can wander far as that WILL happen especially nearer to the night time when the sundowners start getting sundowner episodes and get extremely confused.

The staff are dressed normally and I think that's good too, lots of nurses and docs but everyone seems to be just a part of the community, I wonder if their ability to walk about during the day relieves the needs to pace about and stay up all night because that does happen.

[pjbeattie]

My mother has lived at The Village for about 4 years now. It is truly amazing but its sad how expensive it is. I know that if my wife or I get dementia we will never be able to afford those monthly costs long term. It is too bad that our “system” could not be tailored to be more like this for everyone……. Such is life I suppose.

[BlindFaith]

A wonderful concept. After working in Physical Therapy, treating memory care patients in the memory care facility setting for nearly 23 years, I have gained a lot of insight. I’ve been in gorgeous facilities designed beautifully as well as sterile, cold and hospital like settings. The difference for quality of life are the employees. It doesn’t matter what design the facility has if the employees caring for the residents hate their job. The focus first and foremost needs to be on the employees and their education regarding dementia/Alzheimer’s. I was in a facility where the “head nurse” would argue with the patient. I identified 2 patients at one facility that were actively dying, told the head nurse and the ignored me and the resident. Both residents passed within days of my conversation with the head nurse. I could tell stories all day long.
The true answer to maintaining a good quality of life in this setting is employing people that truly care, and properly educating them. Also, never staff your facilities with a skeleton crew. The more the employees the better the care the resident will receive.

[kc]

Finally treating elderly with love and dignity ❤