"We are almost there, the works are nearing completion." Pascale Lasserre-Sergent, the director of the Village, declines the countdown "in weeks rather than months". And now is the time for the opening of admission procedures to the village. Registrations are done through the ViaTrajectoire online platform, which has the advantage of simplifying applications for admission to medico-social structures
A collective and global decision
How will the 120 future villagers be chosen? The project's innovative approach has attracted interest for several years: since January 2017, date of the first request for registration information, more than 600 families have already contacted the Village. Pascale Lasserre-Sergent refuses to speak of admission criteria, because "each situation is unique, we can’t give closed rules". The director of the Village favors "an individual and global approach. The medical, psychological and social dimensions will be taken into account, without one factor predominating over the other two."
Of course, certain elements will be unavoidable: the diagnosis of the Alzheimer's disease will have been made and the behavioral problems will have to be compatible with the project of accompaniment carried by the Village.
Caregivers at the heart of the project
The admission decision will be taken collegially by the multidisciplinary team of the village while maintaining a strong interaction with the family because "it is a real life choice for the villagers and their relatives," insists Pascale Lasserre-Sergent.
"It's important to keep in mind that nothing is ever final," says the Village Manager. For example, some families may be reluctant to think that their loved ones will be able to roam freely in a vast space of 5 hectares like the landscaped park that exists in the Village and may decide to change their mind and finally withdraw their application for admission...
For Paul Carrère, vice-president of the Landes Department Council in charge of Social Affairs, "an idea-force of the project is to be as coherent as possible in relation to the family environment: it is the DNA of the Village. The caregiver has its full place in it."
120 villagers will move in within ten days
It is expected that all 120 residents will be settled within 10 days of the opening of the village. "This rapidity is a bias to immediately make residents feel the atmosphere of a village and thus facilitate the establishment of life rhythms of each involved", assumes Paul Carrère.
For the future professionals of the Village, the philosophy claimed by the initiators of the Village, "support more than care," generated 1,500 job applications for the 120 positions to be filled. Pascale Lasserre-Sergent is eager to be there: "I can’t wait to verify that the people recruited have understood that we will not reproduce the same patterns as in their previous structures." And Paul Carrère knows that the project will be scrutinized beyond national borders: "What is exciting in this history is the implementation. It is a very important bet to say that therapy will be supplanted by accompaniment."
