Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is the story of the staff and residents of medical establishments hosting patients with Alzheimer. Carpe Diem is the name of such a unit in Quebec. Its philosophy, elaborated by director Nicole Poirier and her staff over the years, is based on the idea of “building a beautiful day everyday day,” by focusing on the human functions that still work, rather than on the obstacles caused by the disease. Awareness towards these methods is growing in France, where establishment directors seek to transform their services and invite Nicole Poirier to direct training programs.

Although the general ideas are appealing, they are not always easy to put into practice. It is not easy to change one’s habits and look at the old man with Alzheimer as a person rich with a whole passed life and still wishing to discover new things. Budget restrictions in France are also a problem : more helping hands would still be needed in order to take care of these patients decently.