A new look and feel for dementia care

Entering the dementia cottage at Red Deer’s Villa Marie is an unexpected yet delightful assault on all five senses.

Brightly painted walls depicting scenes from the farm greet you as the mouth-watering aroma of cinnamon buns and familiar jukebox songs from decades gone by draw you into a lively space full of smiling residents and staff.

Gone are the uniforms. Sterile, bare furniture has been covered with patterned tablecloths, flowers and an eclectic assortment of household knick-knacks.

Dementia care has been radically transformed this past year with Villa Marie’s adoption of the Butterfly Project—a care philosophy pioneered by the British organization Dementia Care Matters.

At its heart, the care model focuses on treating people with dementia as feeling beings, not thinking beings.