The Hogewey Village concept, developed in the Netherlands in the 1990’s, was featured in this blog’s first post (September 22, 2017) describing its implementation at Georgian Bay Retirement Home in Ontario; it has also been implemented in Alberta, and is soon to become a reality as a long-term care home in Langley, B.C.
As reported in The Northern View article on June 20, 2019, the Langley complex includes squares, gardens and a park where the residents can safely roam, along with a grocery store, restaurant, bar and theatre streets.
“What we want is to create a space where people can live life to the best of their ability in their own way, ” For the full article, click here.
Even though the Langley project is private and costly, it is a model from which both public and private sectors can build on to improve long-term care homes in Canada. For instance Providence Health Care, a non-profit organization, is now in the process of creating similar purpose-built facilities in Vancouver and Comox.
While change is happening, it is very sporadic in a system devoid of a strategic plan to overhaul the long-term care home system.
We need a strong advocacy voice to pressure governments at all levels to ‘step up to the plate’ and begin a health revolution in bringing about total culture change in the long-term care home system in Canada. Please reach out to friends, families, organizations, politicians, and the list goes on to lobby and advocate to make this long overdue change a reality.