Dax (France) (AFP)

After two years of work and the passage of a health crisis, the Alzheimer Village of Dax (Landes), a unique establishment in France entirely dedicated to the reception of people suffering from the disease, announced Thursday that it would receive the first of its 120 patients from June 11.

The opening of the Village Landais Alzheimer, originally scheduled for early April, had to be postponed due to the coronavirus crisis, which also forced to review the organization of admissions and, for at least a while, the functioning of the place.

Unique in France, the Village, supported by the Landes departmental council, is "designed like a real village, spread over an area of ​​five hectares", in a 5 hectare landscaped park, according to Vincent Galibert, the director of the grouping of public interest piloting the project.

Conceived in its architecture like a Landes village gathering country houses, it is organized in four districts gathering four households of 300 m2 each and being able to accomodate seven to eight people.

With its café-restaurant, its performance hall, its food store or even its hairdressing salon, it must allow the people it welcomes to continue their daily lives in optimal reception conditions. The objective is clearly set: to put the patient at the center of the device to allow him to live a normal life.

For the time being, the equipment will not operate at cruising speed, due to the Covid-19. Outside people will not yet be able to take advantage of shops and services, and outside volunteers will also have to wait.

Caregivers and caregivers returned on May 11 to observe a quarantine. The admission of patients, who will have been tested, will take place over a month.

The project launched by the former minister and boss of the Landes Henri Emmanuelli who died in 2017, costing 29 million euros, is inspired by a similar initiative set up in Weesp, near Amsterdam.

© 2020 AFP