No Exit: Dementia Village Dwellers Live in Alternate Reality
Here in the Netherlands there is an ongoing trend in the care for the elderly with dementia to move away from the classical ward behind a locked door with keypad. This special village is one approach that works well with people who cannot function safely outside.<p>Another approach that is getting more popular is to let those who can, roam around outside the facility freely with a bit of guidance and the help of local citizens (shopkeepers who keep an eye out) and technology (GPS trackers in their clothes or shoes).<p>Both approaches have huge benefits: it provides the sufferers from dementia with much needed stimuli. A stimulating environment helps prevent a rapid degeneration of the mind — that is, research has shown that <i>use it or lose it</i> is doubly important for elderly suffering from this disease. It also helps preserve a sense of identity.<p>The classical response was always to simply give up on the patients freedom and lock them up in a closed ward where everything is clinically clean, but that also means depriving them of a world that stimulates and intrigues.<p>I&#x27;ve noticed some concerns about the ethics of this secluded village concept, but compared with the alternatives (the closed ward in an elderly care facility) this is about as humane as you can get. People who live there are not maliciously kept unaware of the outside world, and some will regularly go outside with family and friends to celebrate something or to visit a park or a museum; the outside world is not a secret that is being kept from them! But these people do live in a reality of their own; that&#x27;s just what dementia does to you. To them, left to their own devices, this village is the real world — but at least they can safely wander around without feeling cooped up in a small ward.