The Hogeweyk model
Living life your way
The Hogeweyk is an aged care village in The Netherlands where all residents have dementia. The focus of care highlights what residents can do, not what they can’t.
The Hogeweyk’s view on care is entrenched in day-to-day life in society. In normal society, ‘living’ means having your own space to live and having the autonomy to manage your own household.
People live with other people sharing the same ideas and values in life. This makes the place where one lives a home.
The Hogeweyk residents have already lived a life where they’ve shaped their own path; where they made choices about their own household and standards. The fact that a dementia resident cannot function ‘normally’ in certain areas doesn’t mean they can’t have a valid opinion on their day-to-day life and surroundings.
Every house manages its own household with permanent staff. A normal house in a normal village in a secure environment gives the residents of The Hogeweyk this freedom in safety.
The nurses and carers aim to make the experience as real as possible to the residents. Residents with carers do the necessary shopping at the supermarket and assist with preparing and cooking as they would at home. The carers wear normal daytime clothing rather than clinical clothing.
Compared to traditional nursing homes, the residents of The Hogeweyk are also more active and require less medication.
A new way forward for dementia
Dementia is a group of incurable brain diseases. It starts with forgetting small things and gradually progresses to forgetting your life, with the mind eventually forgetting to tell the body how to work.
This devastating disease physically attacks the brain piece by piece stripping what makes you, you.
Dementia is set to be one of New Zealand’s biggest killers and too many families are facing the cruelness of this tragic illness alone. But together, we can improve care and provide a better way for those living with dementia.
It’s the simple things that make life worth living; the bright smile of a grandchild, the familiar chords of the song you danced to at your wedding, the scent of your favourite flower lingering in the air.
For elderly people with dementia, the world is small. Great deeds no longer count. It’s the small comforts which bring joy: a home, a safe place and - if possible - doing what you feel like doing, with the freedom to do so.
If you’d like to know more or to talk with one of our team about living at The Hawthorndale Care Village, get in touch today.