A $25 million village for people with dementia will be built in Tasmania, aimed at providing a real life experience for those with the disease.
The village, Korongee, will be based on a similar one in The Netherlands, the De Hogeweyk village, which mimics a small town setting and creates conditions so that residents are challenged by recognisable incentives to remain active in daily life.
Korongee will have a cul de sac design that relects a real life Tasmanian street.
Residents at De Hogeweyk have been found to require less medication than other dementia sufferers and are also found to live longer. Korongee will be built at Glenorchy in Hobart's north which is currently a derelict area. It will feature homes, gardens, a supermarket, café, cinema and a beauty salon.
Dementia sufferers regularly struggle with unfamiliar colours, spaces and even décor; each home will be designed to create familiar cultural aspects of Tasmanian life.
Residents will be able to wake up when it suits them and carry on with their chosen activities in a way that reflects the life they have always known. For example, if a person was once a tradesman who always started his day early, then life in the village will mirror that lifestyle.
According to the Tasmanian Times, there'll be no set age limit for the community, as people with early onset dementia can be included. The village will cater to around 90 people and friends and relatives will be able to visit and interact with their loved one in a more realistic environment than a nursing home.
Glenview Chairman Iain Weir said the shops in the village will be real shops and the design of the village will offer a superior and proven model of care.
"Korongee's design will make it possible for residents living with dementia to walk around the village and participate in everyday life decisions which are presently not available to those in dementia care," Weir said.
"Activities such as going to the café to buy a coffee or simply heading to the supermarket to buy groceries for dinner. In addition to the cultural services hub, Korongee will consist of 15 houses, each with six bedrooms which will be staffed by health professionals who dress casually and will act as 'home makers' to provide an authentic home like environment."
Staff at the village will take part in village life in a discreet and realistic way that helps them support the residents, while at the same time creating a 'normal' real life environment.
This article was originally published by Huffington Post.
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