Care repairer Team Connected seeks to solve capacity issues

The healthcare industry must be restored to provide the best care for our most vulnerable fellow human beings. That's what the caregivers at Team Connected, formerly known as Connected to Care, which officially continues under its new name today. How the agency plans? By putting the patient first and fixing capacity problems in a sustainable way.  

Team Connected was founded by Edward Bruins and Eddie Zuidema, both of whom were self-employed in healthcare. Here they experienced firsthand that the current staffing system in healthcare is not sustainable. "Healthcare as a sector is broken, and the biggest problem lies with capacity." states Eddie Zuidema. "In almost every facet of the industry, organizations are facing immense personnel shortages. Large staffing agencies have developed a commercial profit model that is supposed to provide the solution to shortages, but this is actually counterproductive. Externs who come to relieve the workload for just a day or a week ask too much of the current team. This leads to frustration and, in the long run, even attrition. The staffing problem is solved in the short term, but the interests of the patient are lost sight of." By thinking ahead as a strategic partner with healthcare agencies, Team Connected aims to fix staffing problems in a sustainable way. In this way, they get back to their main goal: to provide our fellow man with the best possible care.

Healthcare organizations should be in the business of delivering care, not putting out fires due to gaps in the roster, argues Team Connected. So to make that happen, Team Connected's solutions go beyond simply providing a flexible pool of healthcare professionals. By offering medium- and long-term strategic advice and through advice at the policy level, the self-proclaimed care repairman will eventually make himself redundant. "We make the promise that with our passionate people we will have helped a healthcare facility out of acute survival mode within two months." states Edward Bruins. "We then advise at the policy level to get the healthcare facilities back to running as independently as possible. That includes restructuring teams and tasks. We are a collaborative partner, not a vendor. The fact that each member of our team has experience from the floor and knows the healthcare sector inside out contributes to this." 

Team Connected is dedicated to the recovery of the care sector and acts on the belief that care recovery is not only necessary, but achievable. The company was founded in January 2022 by Edward Bruins and Eddie Zuidema under the name Connected to Care with a focus on forensic mental health and disability care. Since the name change in September 2024, the care recovery company has over 160 caregivers from all specialties and Team Connected focuses on all of the Northern Netherlands.

See www.teamconnected.nl for more information.