The village where everyone has Dementia
Hogewey, a secured village located in the Netherlands is home specifically to people with dementia. This village, which lies on the outskirts of Amsterdam in the small town of Weesp, was an innovative idea of designing a care facility for elderly people with dementia.
Dementia is a chronic or progressive disorder that leads to deterioration in the ability to process thoughts. It mainly affects older people with progressive impairments in memory, behavior and thinking, which negatively affect one’s ability to function and carry out daily chores.
The caretakers at the village try to make residents feel like they are living a normal life. Like many small villages, Hogewey has its own town square, supermarket, salons, theaters, pubs, and cafes. Unlike many villages, this one has cameras monitoring their residents every time of the day. Loved ones of the patients are also encouraged to visit.
The residents here live in groups of six to seven in a house, with one or, sometimes, two caretakers. This village has about 23 houses, and each house exhibits a style that is common for the group of people living in the house.
Hogewey was the brainchild of Yvonne Van Amerongen, a staff member at a traditional Dutch nursing home. Realizing the difficulties at a nursing home and not wanting her parents to go through the same, she envisioned a setup and made the idea a reality with the help of research and planning with a group of like-minded caregivers. The village was designed by Dutch architects Molenaar&Bol&VanDillen and opened in December 2009.
Residents in this village are free to roam around the streets, shop, watch movies or be active in one of the clubs there. People with dementia often struggle with unfamiliar places and colours while the village and houses are designed to reach familiarity and make the patients feel like home.
