At the May 17th webinar, Stéphane Bouffard, long-term care consultant at la Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux in Quebec, spoke in no uncertain terms about the progress that is being made to do just that. His passionate presentation outlined Quebec’s strategic plan to transform long-term care homes from institutions to homes where the focus on new builds has already begun. The projected size of the units will range from 12 to 15 residents and the care approach has been adapted from existing innovative models including the Green House, and the Hogeweyk Village model.
More than 300 people registered for the webinar, Humanizing Dementia Care in Long-Term Care on Feb 11, 2023. Aimée Foreman began her presentation saying, “Aging is a social experience, and our emphasis in long-term care should be on the social experience as opposed to clinical care.”
Aimée presented information on the Hogeweyk model of care for those with advanced dementia and explained why this village model promotes quality of life for the residents. Hogeweyk villages emphasize a household model where normal activities of living occur inside the home and exterior design allows for other activities that usually happen outside the household such as shopping, concerts etc.
Some of the key points in her presentation include:
Normalizing dementia is key.
Resident autonomy and self- identity trumps institutional effectiveness.
Language is important. Use of the words “programs” or “therapy” implies a clinical approach.
We need to measure quality of life based on the experience of the person living in the home.
Quality of life implies choice and with choice comes risk.
