Reimagining Dementia Care Through Real Homes and Real Lives, with Eloy van Hal

What happens when we stop designing care around institutions and start designing it around people? In this week's episode, AgingIN CEO Susan Ryan sits down with internationally recognized dementia care innovator Eloy van Hal, to answer this question. Drawing on decades of experience in the Netherlands, Eloy tells Susan how he helped move residents from traditional high-rise nursing homes into small, neighborhood-style homes where daily life feels familiar, meaningful, and human. As founder of the groundbreaking Hogeweyk model of dementia village in the Netherlands, van Hal discusses the philosophy behind it and the broader movement toward relationship-based, person-directed dementia care. Their conversation explores the importance of trust, family education, staff development, and stakeholder collaboration in creating cultures of care that honor the person beyond the diagnosis. More about Hogewyk here: https://www.bethecareconcept.com/en/actual/access-health-international-dementia-village-interview-with-eloy-van-hal/ Learn about the AgingINnovation 2026 annual conference here: https://aginginnovationconference.org