Thinking outside of the box through adaptive reuse of closed malls for dementia programs and services: Community workshop outcomes

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundIt is estimated that 5.4 million Americans have some form of dementia and these numbers are expected to rise in the coming decades, leading to an unprecedented demand for memory care housing and services. In searching for innovative options to create more autonomy and better quality of life in dementia care settings, repurposing existing structures, in particular vacant urban malls, may be one option for the large sites needed for the European model of dementia villages. These settings may become sustainable Dementia Friendly City Centers (DFCC), because in the case of enclosed mall construction, the internal infrastructure is in place for lighting, HVAC, with varied spatial configuration of public spaces. This presentation describes the community engagement research being conducted by a research team at a Midwestern university, laying groundwork for the DFCC model for centralized dementia programs, services and attached housing. An online community workshop was held with 50 participants from multiple stakeholder groups including architect, urban planners, landscape architects, memory care administrators, medical doctors, family caregivers, university professors and students and public health employees. 5 breakout sessions were held after the initiative was introduced to the participants with topics covered which included the themes of community revitalization, building sustainability, urban regreening, onsite housing and medical care and innovation and culture change in dementia care This presentation provides the qualitative data collected through the recorded breakout sessions and the participants agreed that the DFCC model is one opportunity to make life better not only for those with needs associated with dementia now, but also for ourselves in the future. Others saw education of future stakeholders about the value of this model of care as critical in transforming current hurdles into future opportunities.