New concept for rehabilitation care

Expert center for rehabilitation medicine Basalt was able to secure a beautiful new location for hand, wrist and elbow rehabilitation and neurorehabilitation right across from the entrance of the Haga Hospital. The first floor of the large-scale new building named Schoone Ley was inaugurated on Sept. 20 with a new concept for rehabilitation care. Only drawback is that the concept is catching on so well that the space already seems too small.

Until recently, Basalt had a hand, wrist and elbow center at Juliana Hospital. "But we had to get out of that," begins Willem Wiegersma, chairman of Basalt's Board of Directors. "A first option was within the walls of the Haga, but that would be at the very back and mean much less square footage. When a large housing project was developed by Heijmans right across from the Haga Hospital, we thought: what could be better than that! Basalt then bought the entire first floor. We immediately seized on this to roll out a completely new concept, not only for hand, wrist and elbow rehabilitation, but also for neurorehabilitation." 

In the new center, which has been named &Basalt, specialist medical rehabilitation will be linked to primary care in the fields of speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dietetics, hand therapy and skin therapy, among others. Wiegersma: "Everyone is always talking about the right care in the right place. We want to put that into practice with &Basalt. Of the many primary care practices we approached, nineteen proved willing to work out a concept with us in which we could combine both second-line care and somewhat simpler first-line care in one building. This innovative care concept breaks through the walls of separate institutions - the silos in healthcare - and creates an expertise and knowledge center that can offer efficient and high-quality outpatient rehabilitation for the Haaglanden region. It will be the first place in the Netherlands where several first-line hand therapy practices will physically work side by side with second-line therapists."

The benefits are mainly for the patients. Wiegersma: "Because in the building the first-line physio for the hands, for example, sits next to the rehabilitation doctor, patients can easily move on, asking a question is very simple and, if it concerns a more complex case, multidisciplinary help can quickly be organized. We get all kinds of people: people with trauma, a brain hemorrhage, a crushed hand, .... who have been treated in one of the many hospitals we work with by a surgeon, traumatologist, orthopedist or neurologist. These people are focused on intervention, we then make sure the patients can get back to their jobs, their families and their social lives. This is quite complicated for some patients, but with all options under one roof and a multidisciplinary approach, the chances of success are greatest. The extensive mutual exchange of knowledge, combined with research into the most efficient care path for hand, wrist and elbow rehabilitation, makes this a unique center of expertise for hand rehabilitation in the Netherlands."  

In addition to close ties with hospitals such as Haga, HMC, Alrijne, Reinier de Graaf, Groene Hart and LUMC in South Holland, there is also intensive cooperation with partner organizations such as Klimmendaal in Arnhem and Rijndam in Rotterdam. On further ambitions, Wiegersma says: "First make this location a success, then we may want to put this concept into practice in Leiden, Zoetermeer and Delft, among others. And we have no secrets from each other: everyone is welcome to see how it works." 

Getting &Basalt to take concrete action in the plinth of the Schoone Ley, by the way, was no easy task. "The plinth was not designed for an extended care function and, for example, had a rather low ceiling height where there was little room for installations. Moreover, the first floor layer is full of sloping walls and many columns to support the residential tower above. This makes me all the more proud of the team, which nevertheless managed to build a well-functioning rehabilitation center in it. Based on an already established housing vision and our healthcare vision, we drew up a functional Program of Requirements with Cure+Care consultancy. For the design, architect Coen Kessels of Samen Werkende Architecten Adviseurs bv visited several of our locations and spent several days and also a night in the rehabilitation department. During these days there were several open discussions and interviews with the staff and clients. Building contractor Hooijdonk, Idos Interieurs, which took care of the entire permanent furnishings, E-installer Sasburg Techniek and
W installer Building Services then transformed the entire plinth into our new center."

&Basalt has just become operational, but Wiegersma is already a bit overwhelmed by its success. "We already notice that the concept is catching on. The cooperation in a large chain is going well, the cooperation by the nineteen users is going well, and we can fully accommodate rehabilitation patients in one place, treat them and help them back into society as much as possible. And that is ultimately what we are doing it for."    

PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BUILDINGS

That is the vision of SW Architecten Adviseurs bv. Together with the users (the care recipients and caregivers)
was designed, which was divided into an incentive-poor consular section and a section for the more physical validation therapy.

The realization that people with non-congenital brain disorders often receive environmental stimuli unfiltered, for example, led to the choice of carpet in the consultation rooms. Desk arrangements have also been chosen so that the client receives the least stimuli. Lighting is not placed directly above the walking routes, and in the treatment rooms the lighting is dimmable in different groups. And there are numerous other examples.

On the other side, an open atmosphere has been chosen that allows meeting. As a result, the distance between care recipients and care providers is minimal. This makes the building not only a coat around therapy, but itself a part of it.

Extensive electrical installations for &BASALT/de Schoone Ley

In mid-January, Basalt approached Sasburg Techniek, which specializes in electrical installations in the healthcare sector, with the request to realize the complete electrical design and corresponding quotation and budget based on SW Architects' drawings and within a 3-week period. 

Sasburg Techniek did not shy away from the challenge regarding execution either; the rehabilitation center had to be operational before the 2021 construction period. 

Sasburg Techniek installed the complete lighting, power, data, fire alarm, intrusion, access control and emergency power systems. In addition, 14 examination/speaking rooms in the new rehabilitation center were equipped in accordance with medical classification G1. "We are proud that we were able to think along with our expertise and cooperate with &Basalt/de Schoone Ley and that together we were able to achieve this final result," says Arjan Kleuver.

Facts and figures

Client
Basalt Revalidate

Architect
SW Architects Advisors

Advisor
Cure+Care consultancy

BUILDING CONTRACTOR
Hooijdonk

E-installer
Sasburg Engineering

PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT
Idos Interiors

Loose IMPROVEMENT
Lean Office Solutions