and command. of course, we'll have a lot more on this at the top of the hour. but right now on monday we got word that the popular co-host of "car talk" died from complications of alzheimer's. he was 77 years old and alzheimer is the sixth leading cause of death in the united states and it's the only one that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed down. our dr. sanjay gupta recently got a very rare look inside a small village he says should be the future of what dementia care looks like. "sanjay gupta, m.d." starts right now. welcome to hogavey. it's a little village minutes from downtown amsterdam. at first glance it looks like any other small dutch town. but look closer. it's not. outsiders aren't allowed here. and everyone who lives within

these walls has something in common. it's the last place any of them will ever call home. so this is a neighborhood. >> yes, it's a neighborhood. >> a neighborhood for people with dementia. >> yes. yes. >> yvonne is one of the founders of this new age elder care facility. it was built in 2009. and it's the only one of its kind anywhere in the world. >> i think one of the things that are very important to people with dementia is that they don't understand what's happening around them. they don't understand the world anymore. we try to help people understand what's happening and let them feel that it's okay. >> for corey visser, everything is okay. she seems happy here. even more so when theo her husband of nearly 60 years,

comes to visit. you come to visit here every day. >> yeah, yeah. >> how do you describe this place to your friends? >> perfect. >> translator: it's perfect. i wouldn't know a better place for her. it's 100% good. before she came here, i visited five other places and i definitely saw that this was the best place for her. >> what makes this place better? >> translator: this place is open. people can enjoy the seasons. they can really feel if it's cold or warm. they can visit a restaurant. they can drink a cup of tea and they are free to go wherever they want to go. >> wherever they want to go. except back into the real world.

these sliding glass doors are the only doors that lock here. this is the only way in and the only way out. this is the site where there used to be a previous nursing home, right? >> yes. >> you worked at that nursing home. >> yes. >> you had a transformation if you will yourself where you basically decided that wasn't good enough. was there a moment or was there some particular event that really sparked that for you? >> for me, personally, that was the moment that my mother called me and told me that my father had passed away suddenly. nothing was wrong with him. he just had a heart attack and he died. and one of the first things i thought was thank god he never got to be in a nursing home. that's crazy that i have to think that. i'm in the management of a nursing home and i don't want my father to come there. >> wow. >> that's crazy.

my colleagues and the management team had similar thoughts, and at one day we said, well, let's talk about this because this is very important and we sat down. we sat one day in november 1992, we said, let's take one day and decide on what to do to make nursing homes worthwhile living. and we did. >> a four-acre complex, home to 23 housing units and seven different lifestyle themes such as crafts, culture, religious and urban. take a hook over here. the colors. the artwork. even the choice of dishware specific to this particular hife style. >> and those people you live with should be people that could be your friends. people you would pick to live with and not just the first

coming around. those people probably have the same ideas on life. the same values. and we call that lifestyles. >> it sounds like a pretty good life. >> actually it's quite normal. >> a normal life. that's the key. >> it's normal. but it's very hard to be normal. >> creating a sense of normalcy is the number one goal here. oftentimes that means creating a routine and sticking to it. well, if you walk in here, this will look like just about any other grocery store to you, but i want to point out a few things that are different. you do see the same products, juices, you can buy just about anything you want, cleaning products but you'll notice pretty quickly there's no prices on anything and as you're about to see there's no money that has exchanged hands either, the customers, as you might guess, are a very different type of clientele here. they are residents of this village. they have severe dementia oftentimes they come here with their caregivers.

ultimately when they come up to the front desk after buying all their products, they don't exchange any money and trudy, who is the staff member, is trained specifically to handle people with dementia. >> in case i don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. >> some compare this manufactured reality to the movie, the truman show." >> that's the whole kit and caboodle. catch you later. >> a man played by jim carrey discovers his entire life is actually a tv program. everything he thinks is real is a mirage. created by television producers. do the people here ever feel -- i mean, do you ever get the impression that they feel like they're being fooled or duped in any way? >> why should they feel they are fooled? we have a society here. our supermarket is not a show. it's a real supermarket.

maybe we're fooling them and we say it's okay what you're doing. but that's because we want to help people enjoy life and feel that they are welcome here on this earth. >> for the rest of their lives, because here a vacancy only becomes available when a current resident passes away. you're driving along,

having a perfectly nice day, when out of nowhere a pick-up truck slams into your brand new car. one second it wasn't there and the next second... boom! you've had your first accident. now you have to make your first claim. so you talk to your insurance company and... boom! you're blindsided for a second time. they won't give you enough money to replace

your brand new car. don't those people know you're already shaken up? liberty mutual's new car replacement will pay for the entire value of your car plus depreciation. call and for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. switch to liberty mutual insurance and you could save up to $423 dollars. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. ♪ otto has been making music with her husband ben for as long as they've been together.

how did you meet? >> in a pub. in a pub? >> yes. >> yes. >> did someone introduce you or you just saw each other in the pub? >> no, just a pub and i went with a friend of me went there. and they were playing cards. but then afterwards he offered me a drink, and bit by bit we fall in love till this moment. >> do you remember that, ben? do you remember the playing of the cards and the buying of the drink? >> yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. ♪ >> in comparison with hogewey's other residents, ben is a lucky man. these days he can still manage to get a few words out here and there. but doctors warn his alzheimer's disease is rapidly progressing.

i hear a lot of music here. people singing. piano playing. how important is music? >> music is very important because people with dementia we see people with dementia and it's scientifically shown also that music is part that in the brain that functions the longest. i've even seen people that can't talk anymore they don't have the words to talk but they can sing songs. i've seen people playing instruments, music is wonderful. ♪ >> what's the hardest part about all of this for you? >> the communication and that you can see he's losing so many things. but he is still a kind man.

he's not a -- and that's wonderful. >> unfortunately, aggressive behavior is not uncommon in late-stage alzheimer's. oftentimes triggered by confusion or frustration. it can occur suddenly. that's where residents social workers come in. >> there you go, my darling. >> you never leave your phone, do you? >> no, i don't. >> what happens? i mean, how many calls a day are you getting? >> well, it depends. for now we've got a sir in here and he's really nervous and gets agitated and aggressive sometimes, so i have to pick up and go there and try to calm him down so -- >> is that the most common sort of -- what's the most common sort of call you get? >> people are nervous and restless. every person, we have sort of trick book. >> you have a trick book? >> yeah. >> so for this person you're

worried about him who is aggressive -- >> yeah. >> -- what are your tricks? >> well, sometimes i go there and i say, i was looking for you and be really enthusiastic so he thinks, oh, she knows me. >> so you have to sort of be creative. >> yeah, really creative, yeah. >> creativity usually comes at a higher cost. but here that's not the case. in the netherlands it's a state-run system. what about the cost? how is it paid for? >> well, it's a dutch system and we have the same budget as any other nursing home in the netherlands. we have no more, no less. >> you take anybody. what about mild, too mild a dementia? >> yes. >> what's the criteria? >> here in the netherlands we have different indications and you need the indication for the dementia to come here. if you have mild dementia, then you don't have the indication to come here. >> can you -- and i'm sure there's specific clinical

criteria, but can you describe generally what that means? >> well, generally it's that somebody needs attention and support for 24 hours a day. >> you have 152 people living here. >> yes. >> as you say, people who come here but then they also die here. we just saw it today. >> yes. >> how's that for you? >> well, you know, with a lot of people you think, well, they've had their life and they're ready to die. you see that some people are relieved that they can die. >> up until that moment, they are watched over and comforted by full and part-time caregivers who outnumber the residents 2-1. you see, every single worker and volunteer working at the supermarket, restaurant -- >> hello. >> -- even the hair salon has been specially trained to take care of people with severe

dementia. so part of having a normal society is being able to get your hair done as well. >> yes. >> how busy are you? >> i'm very busy. but i think it's also a very special work. >> is she telling you to hurry up? >> no, no, it's not hurry up. she do it. it doesn't matter. ♪ >> the simple act of brushing ena's hair seems to have a calming effect. ena looks like ena and hopefully still recognizes herself in the mirror. the same, sadly, cannot be said for roinle i met. [thinking] is it that time? the son picks up the check? [thinking] i'm still working. he's retired.

i hope he's saving. i hope he saved enough. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. whether you're just starting your 401(k) or you are ready for retirement, we'll help you get there. i found a better deal on prescriptions. we found lower co-pays... ...and a free wellness visit. new plan...same doctor. i'm happy. it's medicare open enrollment. have you compared plans yet? it's easy at medicare.gov. or you can call 1-800-medicare. medicare open enrollment. you'll never know unless you go. i did it. you can too. ♪

spending a few days here at hogewey opened my eyes to a world of possibilities of what growing old could look like. but all the comforting stories couldn't soften the blow that came with meeting the toughest cases. how old are you? >> i have been born in -- >> hard to remember. >> 1926, i mean. >> 1926? >> yeah. >> i mean. i don't know exactly. >> i don't know exactly. you hear that a lot around here.

as time goes by, the grasp on reality fades. for residents like this one. so you say you have a job? >> yes. >> what do you do? >> i don't know. i know it's when i have to go to it. >> are there absolute no-nos, i mean, things that you should never do when you're dealing with someone with dementia? >> yeah. correct them. say, no, don't do this. don't do that. they won't remember it so why would you? they are not childs or something. >> are you happy here? >> oh, yes. yes, yes. i am a happy people. i like, i have children. i have a father and a mother. >> when is the last time you saw your parents? >> my parents?

>> yeah. >> oh, yesterday. >> you saw them yesterday? >> yes. >> do you try and jog people's memory, refresh their memory, or do you just let them -- do you redirect them? what is your strategy? >> it depends on the face of dementia. for example, very often people ask me where are my parents. that's a daily question. and in the beginning you can if the person is not so far in their dementia, well, how old are you? someone says 84. and you say how old would your parents be. and then they can think and, well, oh, that doesn't make sense. >> her dementia has progressed too far to process that kind of logic. but if it bothers her at all, you can't tell. and with so many other residents just like her, there are special modifications here to keep everyone safe.

while sometimes it's the small things that make a difference in a village like this. take an elevator, for example. maybe you don't know what this does exactly but there's a sensor over there, turns on that button over here. that calls the elevator. i didn't have to touch anything because perhaps i didn't know what this door was going to do but now when i walk into the elevator, again, without touching nipg from my weight alone it has sensed that someone is here and is now going to take me up to the next floor. study after study shows that stimulating the mind is the best way to slow the brain's decline. at hogewey there are 25 clubs including this one, for example, baking just to help keep the residents active. >> when i ask someone to finish the table, i won't ask them, oh, do the table because that would be like asking you, well, make

me a puzzle of 1,000 pieces and i give them the last plate will you do it for me. thank you. because of you we can eat. >> you say there are results? >> yes. >> do you think people are physically healthier living in this environment? >> yes, we see people are invited to exercise more because everybody can go outside, walk in the sun. social contacts are very important for people with dementia. it helps different parts of the brains to connect and we see that people meet others here. this life helps people to live a healthy life. that helps people to get strong. >> and that's -- and that's been shown now? i mean, in terms of eating? they eat better? >> yeah. >> in terms of getting off medications, living longer. >> yes. >> do you actually see that? >> well, we haven't had scientific research on living longer. we haven't done that yet. but in 1992 when we started

this, people came in with the same indication, and they would stay an average of 2, 2 1/2 years with us and now it's 3, 3 1/2 years. it's not scientific, but i can count. >> in here people can still be themselves. they can be human. they're not just a person with dementia or they're still a person and they can do whatever they like. my line. hi. okay. i have to go. >> duty calls? >> yeah. bye. >> one of the most difficult residents has barricaded himself inside his home. it's happened before. and just like that, mary lane is on her way. where does -- where does this go from here for you? because right now you have this neighborhood.

again, a normal neighborhood as you put it. 152 residents. what would you want it to be in five or ten years? >> what we're looking at is that we want it to be possible for people, for the partners of our residents, to live here, too. but that's -- in the system we have here in the netherlands at the moment that's not possible. not with the budget we have. >> could this work in other countries? you've traveled around the world. could this work in other cultures? other countries? >> the concept could work. this is dutch. we have dutch design. we have the dutch cultures. dutch groups. lifestyles. actually, what it means this concept is that you value the person, the individual, and that you support them to live their life as usual and you can do that everywhere. >> on a physical level, people here require fewer medications. they eat better. and, yes, they live longer. but on a mental level, they also

seem to have more joy. it's a difficult thing to measure, but it's the most important thing according to the leadership here in hogewey. now, could this work in other parts of the world? that's the next question. ♪ ♪ ♪

for over 19 million people. [ alex ] transamerica helped provide a lifetime of retirement income. so i can focus on what matters most. [ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. transamerica.

[ female announcer ] everyone has a moment when tomorrow becomes real. you know your dunlike natural teeth. try new fixodent plus true feel. the smooth formula helps keep dentures in place. it's free of flavors and colorants. for a closer feeling to natural teeth. fixodent. and forget it.

welcome, everyone, you're in the "cnn newsroom," i'm poppy harlow joining you live from new york. we begin with breaking news, two american citizens both sentenced to years of hard labor in north korea are now free and they are on their way home. matthew todd miller seven months detained, kenneth bae two years