Switzerland's 'Dementiaville' designed to mirror the past

[dipsydoodle]

Its detractors may end up dubbing it "Dementiaville", but Switzerland is brushing aside a debate raging among geriatric-care experts with plans to build a mock-1950s village catering exclusively for elderly sufferers of Alzheimer's and other debilitating mental illnesses.

The newly approved €20m (£17m) housing project is to be built next to the Swiss village of Wiedlisbach near Bern and will provide sheltered accommodation and care for 150 elderly dementia patients in 23 purpose-built 1950s-style houses. The homes will be deliberately designed to recreate the atmosphere of times past.

The scheme's promoters said there will be no closed doors and residents will be free to move about. To reinforce an atmosphere of normality, the carers will dress as gardeners, hairdressers and shop assistants. The only catch is that Wiedlisbach's inhabitants will not be allowed to leave the village.

A similar pioneering, yet controversial, approach to geriatric mental care is already under way in Holland, where the Hogewey nursing home for dementia sufferers was set up in an Amsterdam suburb in 2009. Its residents pay €5,000 a month to live in a world of carefully staged illusion.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/switzerlands-dementiaville-designed-to-mirror-the-past-6293712.html

[TheWraith]

1. Okay, yeah, that's kind of terrifying. nt

[dipsydoodle]

5. I can partly understand it.

It will be associated with Swiss Chalet house styles as opposed to modern blocks whatever. Many affected by Alzheimer's disease still have their long memories so putting them in more familiar surroundings could make sense. Bern is "German" canton and as a world heritage site the chances are there are a lot of what you'd call chalets in that area.

[DonCoquixote]

2. It's what the GOP

want to turmn America into,

[DonCoquixote]

3. The Truman show made live

And as someone who has Alhemizer's in his family, I say, this is disgusting. Anytime illusion is taken over truth, you will sow trouble. What will happen when people start to like the idea of living like this? Will the Blacks and Muslims get to live in a specially authentic ghetto, complete with Jim Crow style sdrinking fountains and lunch counters? Will they at least collect a stipend for doing that, since it is an "act", as opposed to the normal reality where they get treated badly for free?

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. More like "Good Bye Lenin!", I'd say

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Bye,_Lenin!

This is for people in the advanced stages, who need care of some sort; this is the form they are offering. Alzheimer's sufferers can have quite good memories from decades ago, but not from more recent times; this puts them in an environment they may find more familiar.

I'm not sure what 'people' you're referring to who might 'like the idea of living like this'. The patients? I don't think they're in the position of being able to ask for changes to the set-up; nor of imagining an entire society. This is about the design of the accommodation, and whether carers wear uniforms like in a typical home, or dress like people the sufferers would have encountered as service providers many ears ago.

[Tunkamerica]

4. Reminds me of 'The Prisoner' nt.

[Mopar151]

6. Ready to move in today? Waiting for you in Florida

http://thevillages.com/newsletter/201201/visit.htm

[dipsydoodle]

7. That looks more like the film set for

Dirty Dancing.