De Hogeweyk is a gated model village in Weesp, Netherlands designed specifically as a pioneering care facility for elders with dementia providing a village setting focused on encouraging independence in daily living to the extent possible in a natural community environment. The village complex is set out with a town square, supermarket, hairdressing salon, theatre, pub, café-restaurant and twenty-seven residential houses themed according to seven major life-style categories. Six or seven residents per house share common amenities and a common living room, with their own private bedroom/sitting room laid out in each resident's personal style with personal furnishings and belongings. Various mementos of each of the residents are displayed in the common room to create the sense of 'family' among the residents of each house. Reminiscence therapy and reality therapy are employed to stimulate communication, social interaction, participation in activities and attunement to the present.
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