WHO estimates that worldwide, 35.6 million people have dementia and there are 7.7 million new cases every year.Today , the isolated village of Hogewey lies on the outskirts of Amsterdam in the small town of Wheesp. Dubbed “ Dementia Village ” by CNN, Hogewey is a cutting-edge elderly-care facility—roughly the size of 10 football fields—where residents are given the chance to live seemingly normal lives. With only 152 inhabitants, it’s run like a more benevolent version of The Truman Show, if The Truman Show were about dementia and Alzheimer’s patients.
Like most small villages, it has its own town square, theater, garden, and post office. Unlike typical villages, however, this one has cameras monitoring residents every hour of every day, caretakers posing in street clothes, and only one door in and out of town, all part of a security system designed to keep the community safe. Friends…
