Planned Dementia Village in Vancouver to emphasize ‘quality of life’

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – There’s still a few years to go before it could open, but plans for a new Dementia Village in Vancouver could see people of all means living with dementia live a better quality of life if and when it’s built.

That’s according to Providence Health Care, which is taking the lead on this project. “In this village we believe that having programs and services, as well as the layout itself, will have people better engaged with the world around them which we believe actually leads to better health outcomes,” explains Jo-Ann Tait, PHC’s corporate director of seniors care and palliative services.

The care providers is still in the process of finalizing a business plan but the idea is to bring community services within the walls of the Dementia Village to help emulate “regular” life. “The design of the Dementia Village is actually based on the care home taking them to the next level,” Tait says. “So the design of the next level involves the smaller households that we create the current, standard, traditional model of care homes and changes the layout, the format, as well as the design of the entire campus to have amenities as well as other services on them.”

It’s about bringing community services into within the walls of the village. “So that people can still enjoy going for a cup of coffee, going down to the grocery store, buying a bottle of wine, and relaxing in their environment rather than it feel like a traditional care home.”

Those living in the Dementia Village are encouraged to get outside –within the campus’ perimeter– to enjoy “freedom of movement”. The village will be staffed by Providence Health Care, with care givers on site to supervise as well as help anyone who may need assistance. Unlike traditional care homes where people are normally relieved of their regular household routines and actions, the village provides a place where residents are able to live their lives as they would normally, all with the comfort and knowledge that someone is there to jump in if needed.

“Residents will have access to kitchens where they can prepare food with and under the supervision of staff, as well as washers and dryers, possibly even clotheslines or drying racks,” the care provider says.

It’s also a place where people will get to mingle with others they share a common bond with.

The Heather Street Dementia Village is coined after the De Hogeweyk model in the Netherlands, which Tait and other PHC staff were able to tour along with other facilities in Europe. “People of all various levels of dementia lived in this village in their smaller households,” she recalls. “With the ability to go outside and have interesting things to do, they were engaging in normal life within a community that was secured by an outer perimeter, but they had the ability to move freely throughout the entire environment which was so beautiful to see. We saw people that were happy, were engaged, they were enjoying having people from the community come inside and they were relaxed in their environment and enjoying life as we would outside of a care home environment.”

The Vancouver Dementia Village will be publicly funded and will be staffed with the same level of staff PHC has today. “Currently we support over 629 residents across our five homes, and we’re hoping to replace about half of that, so over 300 people is who we’re hoping will live in our new Dementia Village on 33rd and Heather Street in Vancouver.”

Tait says the care provider is aware of several residential care homes across Canada that use traits of the Dutch Dementia Village model. “That’s why we’ve been implementing a lot of the programs and services in our current homes right now, in anticipation of the population of Canadians doubling with dementia in the next 15 years.”

A private, non-PHC-run Dementia Village is set to open in Langley next year. According to Providence Health Care, the Vancouver Village will be three times the size of the one in Langley, and will care for and treat people with dementia of a variety of means.

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