Montenegro highlights response for Alzheimer's patients

Prime Minister Luís Montenegro highlighted this Thursday the “differentiating and innovative” response that the Alzheimer and Parkinson Portugal Relevance Center, built in Sanfins, Valpaços, will provide to people with neurodegenerative diseases.

"It is indeed a differentiated, innovative response, which attempts to portray, through several of the facilities and offerings available here, the day-to-day lives of people who face diseases that either affect their cognitive capacity, in the case of Alzheimer's, or affect their mobility, in the case of Parkinson's," he told reporters after the inauguration of the center built by the São Pedro Social Solidarity Association.

Luís Montenegro said he made a point of coming to Sanfins this Thursday because “ this is a project that provides a response in an area, mental health, which is increasingly in need of investment , both from the Government and the Government's support for society's investments, as is the case with this Private Social Solidarity Institution (IPSS)”.

In addition to responding to 58 users, the Prime Minister also highlighted the creation of skilled jobs and, therefore, the possibility of people settling in this municipality in the north of the Vila Real district.

Earlier in his speech, he had already said that starting today, in Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra, "solutions inspired by Sanfins can begin to be designed."

The Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Relevance Center in Portugal will begin operating in August , creating around 70 jobs and having the capacity to accommodate 58 patients who require a differentiated response in the area of neurodegenerative diseases.

The president of the São Pedro Social Solidarity Association said that today a dream came true and that this center fills a gap that exists in the country, describing the project as a "pioneer" in supporting and providing the most appropriate response to people diagnosed with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's.

In this "symbolic village," patients will have the support of a multidisciplinary team that includes therapists, social workers, psychologists, and animators.

The space offers animal therapy, with horses, donkeys, dogs, fish, and birds, and there is also a mini shopping center that includes shops, a hair salon, a kiosk, and a restaurant, creating a family atmosphere that encourages social interaction.

Among the services offered by the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Portugal Relevance Center are a snoezelen room, which is designed for multisensory brain stimulation, music therapy, a sensory garden (an outdoor space designed to stimulate the senses and promote calm), physiotherapy, a gym and a jacuzzi.

"These people need to be busy every day," emphasized Leonardo Paredes Batista, who added that the inspiration for "this village" came from similar projects he found in the Netherlands and California, in the United States of America.

The investment is approximately three million euros and is the result of funding from the Social Facilities Network Expansion Program (Pares), support from the Valpaços City Council, and a bank loan from the private social solidarity institution (IPSS). Construction began in February 2023.