Dementia can be a scary word. When someone you love is diagnosed, you worry that they will soon be engulfed in a world they don’t know.
You also fear that they might not remember you.
Dementia is a brain disorder that affects a person’s memory, thinking, and even their behavior and emotions.
According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, it’s estimated that over 46 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. This number is expected to rise to over 131 million by 2050.
There isn’t a cure for the disease but there is help.
One company is making one subtle change that is making a big difference for those who suffer from dementia and other illnesses.
True Doors, based in the Netherlands, make decals for the front doors of patients living in nursing homes. The doors can either be a replica of an actual door from the patient’s past or they can create a door from scratch.
Both allow for familiarity and allows residents to feel more at home.
Since most of the doors in nursing homes are the exact same, it reduces resident’s accidentally walking into the wrong room.
This, in turn, helps increase privacy for every resident making residents feel much more comfortable and safe.
The doors also allow for more interaction between patients and even staff. They’re a great conversation starter and encourages residents to communicate with others.
Conversation can help trigger memories in patients with dementia as well.
One resident, Mevr. Gloudemans, said that her family sold the home she lived in for 35 years. Her son-in-law suggested that they get the door remade in the form of a decal. She thought it was a great idea.
Now, the front door to her room is the exact replica of the front door that is familiar to her.
“It has turned out beautifully,” she said.
Another resident Mevr. Lacruz said, “Because it’s just like my front door, it means a lot.”
True Doors make person-centered care a priority.
Person-centered care means that in addition to giving a patient the physical care that they need, patients are put in an environment where positive interaction and communication are both available and encouraged.
True Door states that such an environment results in “an improvement in the overall quality of care.”
The benefits of True Doors doesn’t begin once the decals are put up. In fact, the entire process is meant to be one full of interaction and inclusion between patients, their families, and the staff.
True Doors states, “when care providers work together with relatives and the person with dementia to find the most suitable door, they learn more about and strengthen relationships with residents.”
Mevr. Lacruz added, “Do you know what I think when I come in? That I’m home.”
It’s amazing how such a minor change can make such a big difference.
True Doors has proven to show great benefits to those in assisted living facilities, particularly those who suffer from dementia.
The goal of True Doors is simple, to make the resident feel at home.
Truly, True Doors has surpassed this goal while achieving others along the way.
You can walk through one of the facilities that uses True Doors decals in the video below!
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