Side Note

France is building a village for Alzheimer’s patients

120 Alzheimer’s patients, a fleet of young plainclothes researchers, and one medieval-style citadel are all part of France’s latest attempt to provide quality care for patients with the condition. The aim of the project, which began construction on Tuesday, is to reduce anxiety and isolation by allowing patient to live freely inside a village designed with their needs in mind, all the while testing the efficacy of alternative treatments, reports Le Monde . The so-called “Alzheimer’s village” differs from a traditional residential complex or nursing home in that every inhabitant (save the researchers and volunteers) has Alzheimer’s. The space itself will be built to resemble a traditional French town — rather than a modern, oppressive medical facility — in an attempt to further soothe the residents.

Patients won’t be treated with medication or escorted to and fro by specific nursing aides, but instead allowed to live in relative freedom while cohabitating with researchers, volunteers, and live-in carers, reports The Telegraph. Supporters of the project believe that this “care not treatment” mindset is actually better for patients with Alzheimer’s than standard practices. The village experiment aims to put that theory to the test on a massive scale, allowing researchers to observe the effects a real world passive care system in a highly controlled environment.

French Alzheimer’s care is miles ahead of the rest of the US.

Though construction for the village only began on Tuesday, the project is far from a standalone endeavor. As a country, France has dedicated a large amount of resources to developing Alzheimer’s research and treatments. For over a decade, the country has been a world leader in innovative, passive care for the as-yet incurable condition, rolling out a $2 billion plan in 2007 which aimed to provide support for families, train doctors and nurses about the nuances of the disease, build daycare facilities for the afflicted, and further study the efficacy of known treatment methods.