“The Picardthuis is the sister of the Drostenhuis, which was the first to be built here in Coevorden,” explains Van ‘t Holt. “There arose a waiting list and so the need arose for a second location.” According to the manager, there is also an interest in the municipality of Coevorden, as dementia continues to increase.
Moreover, everyone who comes from here would also like to stay here,” says Van ‘t Holt. “In the last phase of your life you do not want to be placed elsewhere in the country. Not at all with dementia.”
The Picardthuis is a small-scale setting with 22 residential studios. The residents will bring their belongings next Monday. They can use it to furnish their own living space. According to Van ‘t Holt, this helps the residents ‘make themselves feel more at home’.
The residents share two fully furnished living rooms, activity rooms and a garden. Every day fresh food will be cooked for the residents. “But they can also help with peeling potatoes or cutting vegetables if they want,” says Karin Pieper, the new location manager of the Picardthuis.
“Our vision is: Know me, see me, hear me and let me,” explains the location manager. “By this we mean that the resident is in charge. In regular care, this is quickly taken over from the resident. Not here. We look at the possibilities, not the limitations.”
The team adapts to the needs of the residents. “What time does someone get up or take a shower? We are not going to determine that,” explains Van ‘t Holt. “We want to create a warm home for people with dementia.”
The new residential care location is an ‘open house’. This means that the residents are free to walk in and out according to their own needs. As a result, it is not suitable for all forms of dementia, according to Van ‘t Holt. “We have learned that it is about making good agreements with the resident, the relatives and the team. What do we find acceptable? Because the risk remains, people can also fall at home or walk out the door.”
An open house is increasingly possible thanks to new technological developments in the field of GPS systems, says Henny Volman, chairman of Alzheimer Association Drenthe. With the permission of the client, the family and carers, someone can get a GPS strap. In this way, care staff can find someone and take action if necessary.
“That was unthinkable in the past when I was still working in healthcare,” says Volman. “Ten years ago it was not technically possible and, moreover, not considered acceptable. Can you imagine that someone would then ask: ‘Hey, can you give my mother a GPS?” laughs the chairman. “Then someone with dementia was seen as a danger to himself or his environment and that person automatically ended up in a closed ward.