Philippine Daily Inquirer

WHERENURSI­NG HOMEMEETS THE OUTSIDE WORLD

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DAX, FRANCE— Residents of the purpose-built village near Dax in southweste­rn France shop for groceries, get pampered at the hair salon and enjoy music recitals just like anyone else.

But this is no ordinary gated community—each of its 105 permanent residents has Alzheimer’s disease.

The village offers the care of a nursing home in an environmen­t dressed up as the outside world to soften any sense of painful rupture with the past, preserving a measure of autonomy and daily routine that may help slow the advance of dementia.

Madeleine Elissalde, 82, was among the first to move in when the village, the first in France and modeled on one in the Netherland­s, opened in June. She says she likes the surroundin­g countrysid­e and the shared house she lives in.

“It’s like being at home,” Elissalde said. “We’re well looked after.”

Constant

For a while after she was diagnosed, Elissalde lived with her daughter before moving in with another of her children. The moving around seemed to compound her memory loss, her family said.

But now that her daily reference points are more constant, her family say the memory loss has stabilized and she is able to live a more independen­t life than she would in a nursing home.

“Her memory loss is less severe,” Elissalde’s granddaugh­ter Aurore said as the two took shelter from the rain. “She’s happy, she’s rediscover­ed her enjoyment of life.”

Each resident pays nearly 24,000 euros a year in fees. More than half the 6.7 million euro running costs are subsidized by public authoritie­s.

Value for money

Researcher­s from France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research are paying close attention. They want to know whether the village model can alter the clinical trajectory of the disease and whether it offers value for money.

The village has a cafeteria, a library and music room. Its shop provides fresh fruit and vegetables, and flour and chocolate for baking cakes. There are no nurses in white coats.

“We don’t have a till,” said Christine Surelle, who volunteers in the shop. “Our currency of exchange is smiles.”

Her store is as much a place for human contact as it is a place to obtain essential necessitie­s, she said.

“It’s to maintain their sociabilit­y, to maintain a contact with the old world they once knew, to ensure there is no brutal break with the past.”

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 ?? — REUTERS ?? DAILY CHORE Alzheimer’s patient James, 73, feeds donkeys during a walk at the Village Landais Alzheimer site in Dax, France, on Sept. 24.
— REUTERS DAILY CHORE Alzheimer’s patient James, 73, feeds donkeys during a walk at the Village Landais Alzheimer site in Dax, France, on Sept. 24.
 ?? — REUTERS ?? NORMAL LIVING Patients take a stroll inside the Alzheimer village which provides an environmen­t that may help slow the onset of dementia.
— REUTERS NORMAL LIVING Patients take a stroll inside the Alzheimer village which provides an environmen­t that may help slow the onset of dementia.
 ?? — REUTERS ?? AGE OF BEAUTY Resident Mauricette, 86, receives a beauty treatment at the hairdresse­r inside the Village Landais Alzheimer on Sept. 24.
— REUTERS AGE OF BEAUTY Resident Mauricette, 86, receives a beauty treatment at the hairdresse­r inside the Village Landais Alzheimer on Sept. 24.

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