Clustering brings salvation for healthcare

After earlier projects in Middelburg and Goes, care provider 's Heeren Loo has opened the third of five new care locations in Vlissingen. This will gradually put an end to a situation with a fragmented care of some 350 clients across 120 locations. The clustering means that care can once again be provided in a financially and organizationally sound manner. 's Heeren Loo Vlissingen consists of 96 care units and a building for day care and primary care. The location in Kapelle is now under construction and developing builder Aan de Stegge Roosendaal (ADSR) may also soon begin work on the second location in Middelburg.

The fragmented care in Zeeland that 's Heeren Loo is currently parting with dates back to the 1990s. "Handicapped care was provided here for a long time by Arduin, which, starting in the late 1990s, completely abandoned large-scale care in institutions," says Henri Willemsen, Account Manager for Real Estate at 's Heeren Loo. "According to the inclusion approach, clients were to live among people, in ordinary houses. That eventually became more than 120 spread throughout the region. That went well for a long time, but eventually it proved financially and organizationally unfeasible. Just try manning 120 locations at night. Eventually, the quality of care and housing also suffered, and then the inspectorate intervened. Arduin also threatened to go bankrupt."

With a new board and in consultation with the ministry, a continuity plan was then made to prevent hundreds of clients from finding themselves without housing or living very far away. Willemsen: "'s Heeren Loo was one of the parties approached at the time. In our rescue plan, the 120 locations were replaced by four to six locations in a real estate transition. This plan was approved and with a financial contribution from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the merging of Arduin with 's Heerlen Loo, we were able to work on a continuation. We then started looking for new locations on Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland and were able to find five locations. Then you start taking stock of where the existing 350 clients have their social network, what their location preferences are and how we can match that with the locations."

Middelburg was already owned and proved the easiest to develop and build. The site is now in use, recently followed by Goes. "Vlissingen was different, but there we had an entrance through John Priem of Zeeland Wonen," Willemsen continues. "He had a grip on a plot at Nieuw Zuidbeekseweg, with the right to develop it together with Aan de Stegge Roosendaal, on condition that it would also be built by ADSR. With our own housing concept, which had already been worked out in detail, we then set to work with ADSR in an accelerated and constructive manner. After the necessary optimizations and cost savings due to increased prices, a plan was finally on the table. The only delay was in the zoning procedure. Housing for 200 labor migrants was projected on the adjacent site, which caused a lot of resistance in the neighborhood. Fortunately, that plan didn't go through and we could really move forward."

's Heeren Loo's housing concept was laid down in a master plan that assumed a group home with a kitchen and four studios on either side. "We adapted that to two connected groups with an intermediate section for the facilities," Willemsen continued. "That package is getting bigger and bigger with the sustainability requirements. In this concept, the specifications, floor plans and installations are fixed and all buildings have flat roofs. We don't want to reinvent the wheel every time and use it for multiple target groups. For this, the architect designs a shell that complies with local welfare standards."

ADSR was able to get to work on this quickly, and on June 19, 2023, the celebratory first pole was struck. "That was a wooden pole that went into the ground with a wooden scaffold and with choir singing," reports Bas Moens, ADSR director.  

"On July 18 of this year, we completed the six clusters with 96 housing units and a day care building. A simple calculation shows that this is less than three days per studio. From the air you can clearly see how the complex is set up, with the clusters scattered around the grounds like a sort of Tetris game. Four care studios are arranged as low extensions to a higher living room, while living groups are connected by an installation space. Near the traffic circle is the day care center with treatment rooms for primary care. In the offshoot of the site is a two-story apartment building for independent living with an attached residential group with another eight care units. Like all the other new locations of 's Heeren Loo Zeeland, this one is also on the edge of the built-up area, with unobstructed views and green surroundings."

Building fast is what you do with a well-run train. Moens: "We work with fixed chain partners. That is familiar, you know where to find each other and the lines are short. Because they are similar clusters, we could also realize them nicely in phases. With a short preparation time, precast was not an option, so we opted for a shell of sand-lime brick walls and hollow-core slabs, which can also be built quickly. The facades are constructed of masonry of gray and white grained waal format hand-formed brick, interspersed with facades of dark manganese colored brick. All buildings are equipped with underfloor heating, fed by an air/water heat pump. With Jaga radiators in the studios, residents can adjust the temperature afterward." 

At the beginning of October, 's Heeren Loo Vlissingen was officially opened with a small party. Willemsen concludes, "In about five years' time, the surrounding greenery will have grown to such an extent that here will be a sheltered care complex where we will be able to offer high-quality care for decades to come. And that is what we are going to achieve with ADSR in Middelburg. We will have come a long way from the Arduin era, but we are doing that for our clients."