As global ageing intensifies, more and more people are suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Maybe one day, our parents don't know who we are, and we don't remember who we are. In the face of such a situation, our only option seems to be to send them to a special nursing home.
However, in the nursing home, a place far away from family and friends, they are faced with a completely unfamiliar environment, and they live in cold wards. They can no longer do what they like, and they can no longer live the life they want. They did not even have the right to take a walk in the street and lay in bed for the rest of the day.
Is there no other option?
Do they have to wait to die when they lose their memories?
Can't they live like normal people?
Australia's first "Alzheimer's Village" (dementia village) in Tasmania offers another possibility for those elderly with dementia.
The village's name is Korongee, a safe community for people with Alzheimer's disease.
Here, all the houses, all the buildings, all the street views, all the shops are no different from the real community, so that they can live in a familiar, comfortable environment like normal people.
There are cafes, cinemas, supermarkets, hairdressers, restaurants, parks, quiet boulevards to meet all the needs of old people's daily lives.
In their spare time, they can go out for a stroll, sunburn, shop in the supermarket, drink coffee, watch movies, do hair, do whatever they like.
This is their life, and they are free to choose and decide, not to be constrained as in nursing homes.
In order to make dementia more comfortable, all the nurses in the community wear casual clothes and dress up as various identities, such as gardeners, cashiers, supermarket workers, and so on. On the one hand, they will pay close attention to the physical condition of these old people, on the other hand, they will treat them as ordinary customers and tell them with practical action, "you can also live like a normal person."
There are 15 houses in the community that can accommodate 90 old people. Paramedics also dress up as ordinary people and live with them. However, the two sides are no longer the traditional care relationship, but more like the family living together. Everything from cleaning the room to cleaning up and cooking is done by all of us. The elderly are no longer patients who only need to be cared for. They are part of their own lives.
Because Alzheimer's patients often panic about unfamiliar environments, colors, and designs, designers are also very attentive in designing their homes based on the familiar style of the elderly. Unlike the stereotypical ward of a nursing home, each room has a different appearance and is arranged in accordance with the specific style of life of each elderly person.
For example, if you used to be a businessman, the room would be decorated in this luxurious style;
If you were a writer before, then your room will be full of the smell of books;
If you like simplicity, then your room will definitely be the way you like it.
In short, every old man can find a home here, find a familiar feeling.
In addition, in order to maintain the old life style, the community will also arrange for similar working background, the same interests of the elderly living in a house.
If you like to get up early, your neighbor is as diligent as you.
People who like to sleep until they wake up naturally do not have to worry about having a "neighbor" disturb you;
Like painting, just right, me too;
I'd like to go to the supermarket to buy some food and cook for myself. Let's do it.
In such an environment of independence without feeling lonely, these old people are free and free to spend the rest of their lives happily as a normal person. (applause.) -.
When free, family and friends can also come here to visit them.
Of course, in order to ensure their safety and health, in addition to caregivers, the community will also monitor their physical condition through monitoring equipment and various technical means.
In fact, the idea of the Alzheimer's Village came from the Dutch town of De Hogeweyk. The town, the world's first safe community for Alzheimer's patients, was inaugurated in 2009.
Such a place has proved to be very beneficial to the physical and mental health of these elderly people. Living in a familiar environment, living in the same way as ordinary people, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude, and happy mood, the old people here not only take less medicine, but also live longer than those who live in nursing homes.
The idea was later imitated by many countries in Europe and the United States, and the village of Korongee, in Talla, was Australia's first.
Korongee Village effect Map
The A $25 million project, co-financed by goverment and the pension fund, is being built in an abandoned area of Glenorchy, north of Hobart, and is expected to be completed within a year and a half. There is no age limit for elderly residents here, even if it is a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.
Korongee Village effect Map
Australia is ageing, with 15.7 percent of people over 65 and five hundred thousand people over 85, according to the data. And Alzheimer's, has become Australia's second-largest death killer!
Alzheimer's patients may not be able to adapt to normal society, but that doesn't mean they can't have their own lives. Living in a nursing home puts them under unexplainable pressure to accelerate the deterioration of their condition and bring them to death a step earlier.
More than compassion, and care, dementia elderly people need a relaxed and pleasant living environment. Here, they are no longer helpless patients, but the master of life. The purpose of this place is to return the right to choose one's life to these old people, who decide for themselves what to do and what to do for the day. More importantly, let every old man be able to leave with dignity.