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.
To view the presentation, please click here.
Ontario needs more homes where residents thrive in a place that looks and feels like home, not an institution.
Please help make this transformation a reality by forwarding this post to your contacts or by sharing on your Facebook, Twitter or Instagram accounts.
This is an excellent webinar. As someone has stated, Amie Foreman has a “well paced “ & “packed information” in her presentation. She is article, passionate & persuasive.
Thanks for your encouraging remarks. Let’s hope her persuasion inspires others to act and change long-term care now.