America's first 'dementia village' is coming to Wisconsin to revitalize memory healthcare for 65 residents as part of a $40 million project. Agrace, a Wisconsin hospice care company, is launching the community in 2027 on its Madison campus after a similar model thrived in the Netherlands. The village will house up to 65 patients with memory loss conditions, and it is designed to give them independence and routine by mimicking a small town. Residents will live in households of eight, and medical staff will be on site to help them with their daily lives, including grocery shopping and going out to restaurants.
The Model is Based on the Hogeweyk Dementia Village in the Netherlands
'Living at this campus will not feel like an institution,' CEO Lynee Sexten said in a statement. 'We are building individual households that look and feel just like a home. 'All the things that you have in a traditional home today will be replicated here within the village.'
Their model is based on the Hogeweyk Dementia Village in the Netherlands (pictured), which is designed to allow residents to continue living, rather than being institutionalized. The project changed dementia care in parts of Europe, Australia, Canada, and China. And now, 65 Americans will get the chance to try it for themselves.
Sexten (pictured) said many families across the US are unhappy with the care currently available to help treat their loved ones with dementia, a condition which is only expected to surge in the coming years, so they set out to find a better solution. 'We want to create an environment where we restore as much autonomy and personal spontaneity as possible for those living with dementia,' Sexten told WMTV. Agrace has not said how much residency will cost families. Room and board will be paid for by patients' relatives, while medical expenses can be covered by health insurance. 'While we don't have cost details yet, residents will pay monthly rates comparable to what they would otherwise pay at assisted living facilities,' an Agrace spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
Sliding Fees Planned
'Agrace also has an endowment to provide a sliding fee scale for individuals who might not be able to afford the full amount.' They currently have more than 100 signed up to receive notification when the application goes live. They will also allow day visitors, where those living with dementia but not living in the community can come and enjoy the activities in the village. Up to 50 day club members will be allowed each day, the company said. Fitchburg's dementia village is expected to open in September 2027.
Nearly 11 percent of Wisconsinites over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the Badger State. In 2025, almost 135,500 Wisconsin residents were living with dementia. The number is projected to rise to nearly 215,000 by 2040, according to Agrace. The Fitchburg dementia village was partly funded by Ellen and Peter Johnson, Madison-based philanthropists, who donated $7 million toward the project. 'The need is so incredible, and this project demonstrates that Agrace is a leader in memory care,' the couple said in a statement.
When Hogeweyk Dementia Village opened in 2009, it revolutionized memory healthcare for those living with severe dementia. It was first project that de-institutionalized memory care, making it as inclusive and as close to normal life as possible, while allowing members to maintain an active social life. 'We want to help people enjoy life and feel that they are welcome here on this earth,' co-founder Yvonne van Amerongen told CNN in 2013. Co-Founder Eloy van Hal said the model is 95 percent about living and five percent about care. 'People are not stupid. They want to live, not be treated constantly as patients,' he told The Washington Post last year.
Residents at Hogeweyk cook and garden together and can shop at a free grocery store on site. They still go through checkout, despite not exchanging payment for the items. Like Hogeweyk, residents who live at the Agrace campus will live there until they die. The model changed how the world viewed dementia care and started a ripple effect that is now landing in the US. There are 57 million people living with dementia worldwide as of 2021 according to the World Health Organization.