Rethinking Dementia Care: Lessons from the Netherlands Webinar -5/21/25

In this webinar, Roshan Betkerur, who was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2024-2025 to work with the Aging and Long-Term Care research team at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, studying innovative living arrangements and care models for people living with dementia, shares his experiences and the research he conducted. He starts by explaining the differences in care approaches between the Netherlands and the United States, particularly focusing on the deinstitutionalization and demedicalization of dementia care, as well as the emphasis on promoting autonomy and independence for residents with dementia. In the webinar, Roshan highlights various innovative care models present in the Netherlands, detailing their operations and functions. The primary models discussed include Dementia Villages, Dementia Care Farms, and Small-Scale Home-Like Living Facilities. From there, he examines how these nursing homes provide care for individuals with dementia, identifying common effective factors in their approaches; factors encompass, but are not limited to, redirection techniques, freedom of movement and choice, facility layouts, care models, and the cultural perspectives on dementia care prevalent in the Netherlands. Finally, Roshan shares recommendations and innovative ideas that could be adopted in American nursing homes, both in the immediate future and over time, emphasizing the necessity for a cultural shift in dementia care that starts with small, everyday changes.