Mary Pitsch on the Idea and Goals of Livasu Dementia Village

Frederica Freyberg:
In other health news, nearly 7 million people in the U.S. are living with dementia and experts say that number will double by the year 2060. In Wisconsin, 130,000 people have Alzheimer’s, making up half of all nursing home residents. As this population continues to grow, so does the strain on caregivers. One group is looking to an alternative care model creating a dementia village in Sheboygan. A local nonprofit says this will be the first of its kind in the United States, modeled after a world-renowned village in the Netherlands. The 79-acre plot will contain on-site care workers, more than 100 homes and have amenities like a grocery store, restaurant and theater. For more, we turn to Dementia Innovations co-founder and board president Mary Pitsch and Mary, thanks very much for being here.

Mary Pitsch:
Thank you for inviting me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So describe for us what makes this planned village, which you are calling Livasu, different from a nursing home?

Mary Pitsch:
Yeah, it’s different on so many levels. I think one of the things to think about is nursing homes were really designed for people with — that are frail, elderly people, not for those with dementia. Our village, Livasu, is designed specifically for the unique needs of the person with dementia.

Frederica Freyberg:
And tell me what Livasu means?

Mary Pitsch:
So Livasu is really a new word. This is a new concept of care and support. And we brought the words together – living as usual. Living as usual is one of the core care concepts of the village. And it really just means that – living as usual. Allowing the person with dementia to open their front door and walk outside, living in a home that they own. An environment that is designed to meet their needs. Again, just living as usual.

Frederica Freyberg:
Why is that better for residents? I mean, it seems obvious, but what have you learned?

Mary Pitsch:
You know, I think as we age, there’s a feeling oftentimes that safety at all costs, right? That safety at all costs and what is that cost? All of us take risk every day. We drove. We walked across the street. But as we age, and especially as we age with dementia, we kind of lose the person besides their dementia. And allowing them to be able to live in an environment that has positive risk acceptance. We know there’s going to be some risk. We know they can live as usual, allows them to not lose their personhood, not become only defined by their dementia, but really about still being a person even as they age with dementia.

Frederica Freyberg:
What sparked this idea?

Mary Pitsch:
So there’s a bit of a story to that. I’ll make it as short as I can, but there was a group of us that got together to work on our way that we responded to dementia crisis in our community. And we weren’t doing a great job about that. So if somebody with dementia was having some behaviors, we would send law enforcement. They’re not criminals. So we changed the way we respond, and now we have EMS respond. We’ve trained over 4,000 caregivers and professionals on de-escalation in place, but we knew we could do better. We knew that was still a Band-Aid approach. And we said, how we do better is by starting to look at the beginning and that’s their environment. How do we never have to get to that response in the first place? So we created and designed this environment.

Frederica Freyberg:
How costly will it be for people to live there?

Mary Pitsch:
So we are a nonprofit and we made that decision to be nonprofit so that we could really support all income levels to be able to live at Livasu. We are looking at fees to be able to be right in line with traditional care settings, but they get so much more. And then we’ll also have levels of care and support, which is different than traditional levels of care, generally speaking, who are kind of a one fee no matter if you need it or not. And we’re going to be able to give them choices. In addition, we do plan to have an endowment that will continue to support those who are not able to afford it.

Frederica Freyberg:
So this is the first of its kind in the United States. Is it your expectation that this will be a model for other places?

Mary Pitsch:
We sure hope so. Somebody has to be first. We often get asked why aren’t others doing it? And I really believe the answer is because it’s a lot of work. Every decision we are making is a new decision, but somebody has to be first, and then we can help make sure that that model, this movement of care and support, a change in how we look at dementia, will move throughout the country.

Frederica Freyberg:
Mary Pitsch, thanks very much.

Mary Pitsch:
Thank you.