Althouse: "The Dutch Village Where Everyone Has Dementia."

November 17, 2014

"The Dutch Village Where Everyone Has Dementia."

"The town of Hogeway, outside Amsterdam, is a Truman Show-style nursing home."

14 comments:

Rob said...: Cameras monitoring residents every hour of every day, caretakers posing in street clothes and everybody is demented. Sounds like Washington, DC. Bah dum dum!; 11/17/14, 12:36 PM
traditionalguy said...: What do they calla Blog where all of the commenters have Altheimers?; 11/17/14, 12:58 PM
Jason said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuQ1dhLdzww

The Dutchman.

One of the great love songs ever written.; 11/17/14, 1:16 PM
eddie willers said...: What do they calla Blog where all of the commenters have Altheimers?

Alzhouse, of course.; 11/17/14, 1:33 PM
Jason said...: What do they calla Blog where all of the commenters have Altheimers?

I don't recall.; 11/17/14, 1:41 PM
MadisonMan said...: The cost of care is nearly $8,000 per month, but the Dutch government subsidizes the residents—all of whom receive private rooms—to varying degrees; the amount each family pays is based on income, but never exceeds $3,600.

To put it into perspective, a private room at a U.S. nursing home cost an average of $248 per day in 2012, or more than $90,500 annually

So the U.S. rates are cheaper: $90,500 vs. $96,000. But nice try at obfuscation, Atlantic.; 11/17/14, 2:26 PM
Julie C said...: Many assisted living facilities (which look like nice hotels), have dementia units within them. My mom lived in two different ones. They were definitely not nursing homes. There were kitchens with dining areas and comfortable couches and televisions. All the comforts of home. She shared a bedroom, but it had her own furniture in it (well, as much as would fit). She had a closet and a shared bathroom. The bathrooms were really quite nice. There was a lovely courtyard with tables to sit at during the warmer months.

The cost was about $7000 per month, towards the end. The price went up as the level of care went up.

But we were lucky in that she had the assets to pay for that care. The nursing homes often provide care for those who only have Medicaid. The surroundings are much more clinical.; 11/17/14, 2:40 PM
m stone said...: Absolutely fascinating concept that eludes my experience with both dementia and Alzheimers (family members, not me).

This must require considerable monitoring. Dementia people lose bathroom skills. Alzheimers people can get violent or try to escape. A range of dangerous behaviors---not all, but many, especially in advanced stages.

TV depictions of dementia do not serve anyone. Very unrealistic.

The Dutch can pull this off apparently. No possibility in the US IMHO.

Julie is correct. These special units are everywhere now. Her cited costs are higher, but location matters and extreme care is expensive.; 11/17/14, 4:17 PM
James Pawlak said...: Best ever recruitment ground for university PoliSci and, at MIT, economics departments.; 11/17/14, 4:45 PM
Anonymous said...: This sounds like a great idea for those patients who can still handle the freedom.

My father had dementia before he died. He spent his last year or so on a memory care floor of a retirement institution that had several specialized areas. His floor had about 30 rooms, a couple of common areas, and the office of the administrator on duty. The doors to the floor were locked from the inside. It was clean and well-kept. We reserved one of the larger rooms for family meals at holiday times.

Before my mother moved him to the institution he was getting lost in his one-story, two-bedroom house. He kept confusing it with the much larger house he grew up in and was frustrated when he couldn't find all the rooms he was looking for. I think he would not have done well in a setting as large as this village. He would have needed constant coaxing to get back home.; 11/17/14, 5:35 PM
David said...: Having Alzheimer's must be like a strange half conscious dream from which you never awake.; 11/17/14, 5:47 PM
Be said...: First thing that came to mind was this.

http://youtu.be/tra3Zi5ZWa0

The Dutch Plan is a nice dream, but, it seems another alternative to euthenasia.

Based on my (albeit limited) experiences with dementia, it's more about rendering the Short Term memories Long Term, and how the lack of ability to do so makes messes of things.; 11/17/14, 7:34 PM
Be said...: Grundoon: My maternal grandmother experienced dementia before passing. It used to actually be interesting, not to mention weirdly fun to visit the care facility (Lutheran. The Catholics dealt with Catastrophic Care.) There was this German Lady who would call us all Polacks and White N!ggers,

My grandma would be silent about it, then, when her friend had her rant, she'd hold her hand and sneakily offer a chocolate.

Grandma later told me that they were best friends, that they'd both share underground chocolates (as both were diabetics), and that her German Friend Hurt.; 11/17/14, 7:48 PM
cubanbob said...: Speaking of dementia just read the comments at The Atlantic.; 11/17/14, 8:53 PM