News
Construction of the first ‘Alzheimer’s village’ in France, which will house 120 residents in Dax, will begin in late April and the work is expected to be completed by autumn 2019.
Archaeological excavations will finish in February, the first work on the site is scheduled for April and the village is expected to open in late 2019. Construction of a dedicated village for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will start soon in Dax. It will take around 20 months.
This ‘laboratory village’, the first of its kind in France, will develop practices that encourage non-pharmacological approaches and therapeutic activities designed, as far as possible, to preserve patients’ cognitive abilities. The project is partnered by a scientific committee made up of three renowned researchers: Professors François Tison and Jean-François Dartigues, from the Institute of Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bordeaux, and Professor Bernard Bouliac, former director of the Institute of Neuroscience in Bordeaux.
10 of the 120 places will be reserved for patients under the age of 60 and another 12 for day patients. Patients will be looked after by around a hundred healthcare professionals (doctors, nursing assistants, nurses, psychologists, physiotherapists) and supported by the same number of trained volunteers. ‘Without the active presence of these volunteers, the project would not be possible’, as Professor Jean-François Dartigues, a member of the scientific committee, explained recently in an interview in Sud-Ouest newspaper. ‘They will provide support according to the patient’s condition and symptoms. For example, cycling will be possible using tandem bikes’.
The facility, set in an enclosed area of five hectares, will have all the characteristics of a village designed to resemble a ‘bastide landaise’. It will be made up of 16 homes inspired by traditional architecture, outdoor green spaces treated as either public (squares, gardens, etc.) or private (patios, plots, etc.) and paths where patients can go for a stroll.
The investment cost is 28.8 million euros and the annual running budget is nearly 7 million euros.
The idea for an alternative to traditional care homes in Landes came from Henri Emmanuelli, in 2013, after he read an article in ‘Le Monde’ newspaper on the first ‘Alzheimer’s village’ in Europe (in Weesp, in the Netherlands). One year later, the Department set the project in motion by launching a feasibility study.
