Inside the French village for Alzheimer's patients

Reuters Videos
4 年前

This is the sound from a village for people with Alzheimer's disease in southwestern France.

It's a gated community where all 105 residents have the progressive brain disorder.

There's a cafeteria, a library, groceries and a hair salon for pampering sessions.

There are no nurses in white coats. But the village does come with the care of a nursing home.

Researchers are paying close attention, hoping to find out whether this model for living can alter the clinical trajectory of the disease - while also offering value for money.

82-year-old Madeleine Elissalde was one of the first ones to move in when the village opened in June.

"I am very well here. They take good care of us, we eat well. It is as if we were at home."

After her diagnosis, she lived with with her daughter before moving in with another of her children.

But the disruption seemed to worsen her memory loss, according to her family.

Now, she has a daily routine in the village - and that might just be helping to slow the advance of her dementia.

Her granddaughter said she has "found her love of life back."

Each resident pays over $28,000 a year in fees - with more than half the almost $8 million total running costs being subsidized by the French authorities.