On the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day, the government announced the opening of a village dedicated to the sick. This pilot village will be built in the Landes and will have the mission of keeping patients in a social setting. It will accommodate 120 patients from 2018. It will be inspired by a Dutch village set up in Weesp in 2009.
120 caregivers and 120 volunteers will surround the patients. Without white coats or medical accessories, they will allow Alzheimer’s patients to maintain an ordinary social life. This village model allows them to live in an environment close to normality. They will be able to feel free while actually being protected. “This emblematic place which will mark a turning point in the management of the disease”, must also constitute “a project for researchers”, explained Ms. Rossignol, Secretary of State in charge of the Elderly and Autonomy.
A respite village
The Minister of Health took advantage of this day to inaugurate the “respite village” of Fondettes (Indre-et-Loire) which welcomes families and the sick to spend a few days of vacation. “From next year, people who are caregivers will be able to benefit from support, up to 500 euros per year, to take a few hours or a few days off”, explained Ms. Touraine speaking of the bill. “adjustment of society to aging” In Fondettes, the average cost of a one-week stay with full board for a dependent person and their loved one is 1,223 euros. medical treatment being covered by health insurance.
In France, according to the latest figures from the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm), 860,000 people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and the number of patients should reach two million in 2020. Alzheimer’s and related diseases represent the leading cause of age-related loss of intellectual functions.
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