Representative Steil on our website. In other health news,
nearly 7 million people in the U.S. Are living with dementia.
And experts say that number will double by the year 2060. In
Wisconsin, 130,000 people have Alzheimer's, making up half of
all nursing home residents. As this population continues to
grow, so does the strain on caregivers. One group is looking
to an alternative care model creating a dementia village in
Sheboygan. A local nonprofit says this will be the first of
its kind in the United States, modeled after a world renowned
village in the Netherlands. The 79 acre plot will contain on
site care workers, more than 100 homes and have amenities like a
grocery store, restaurant and theater. For more, we turn to
dementia Innovations co-founder and board president Mary Pitsch.
And Mary, thanks very much for being here.
>> Thank you for inviting me. >> So describe for us what makes
this planned village, which you are calling Lévézou, different
from a nursing home? >> Yeah, it's different on so
many levels. I think one of the things to think about is nursing
homes were really designed for people with frail that are
frail, elderly people. Not for those with dementia. Our village
is designed specifically for the unique needs of the person with
dementia. >> And tell me what Lévézou
means. >> So lévézou is really a new
word. This is a new concept of care and support. And we brought
the words together. Living as usual, living as usual is one of
the core concepts of the village. And it really just
means that living as usual, allowing the person with
dementia to open their front door and walk outside, living in
a home that they own. An environment that is designed to
meet their needs. Again, just living as usual.
>> Why is that better for residents? I mean, it seems
obvious, but what have you learned?
>> You know, I think as we age, there's a feeling oftentimes
that safety at all costs. Right? That safety at all costs. And
what is that cost? All of us take risk every day. We drove we
walked across the street. But as we age, and especially as we age
with dementia, we kind of lose the person. Besides their
dementia. And allowing them to be able to live in an
environment that has positive risk acceptance, we know there's
going to be some risk. We know they can live as usual, allows
them to not lose their personhood, not become only
defined by their dementia, but really about still being a
person even as they age with dementia.
>> What sparked this idea? >> So there's a bit of a story
to that. I'll make it as short as I can, but there was a group
of us that got together to work on our way that we responded to
dementia crisis in our community. And we weren't doing
a great job about that. So if somebody was dementia, was
having some behaviors, we would send law enforcement. They're
not criminals. So we changed the way we respond, and now we have
EMS respond. We've trained over 4000 caregivers and
professionals on de-escalation in place, but we knew we could
do better. We knew that was still a Band-Aid approach. And
we said, how do we do? Better is by starting to look at the
beginning. And that's their environment. How do we never
have to get to that response in the first place? So we created
and designed this environment. >> How costly will it be for
people to live there? >> So we are a nonprofit and we
made that decision to be a nonprofit so that we could
really support all income levels to be able to live at Lévézou.
We are looking at fees to be able to be right in line with
traditional care settings, but they get so much more. And then
we'll also have levels of care and support, which is different
than traditional levels of care, generally speaking, who are kind
of A11 fee no matter if you need it or not. And we're going to be
able to give them choices. In addition, we do plan to have an
endowment that will continue to support those who are not able
to afford it. >> So this is the first of its
kind in the United States. Is it your expectation that this will
be a model for other places? >> We sure hope so. Somebody has
to be first. We often get asked why aren't others doing it? And
I really believe the answer is because it's a lot of work.
Every decision we are making is a new decision, but somebody has
to be first, and then we can help make sure that that model,
this movement of care and support, a change in how we look
at dementia, will move throughout the country.