'The care bed our residents deserve'

Height adjustable, fitted with a central brake, equipped with concealed double casters and a headboard and footboard manufactured in any desired color. These are just a small selection of the features of the Malsch Aura Loft nursing bed that Hans Prenger, director and owner of Verburgt-Molhuysen Staete in Oosterbeek, and his team are delighted with.

Luc Lowenthal, Sales & Marketing Manager at Medifix B.V. in Udenhout: "I met Hans at the Care & Facility fair in Utrecht, where we had a care bed in a homely atmosphere on display as an exhibitor. We got talking, during which Hans indicated that, in addition to ergonomics, appearance was also very important. The comfort of the mattress was also decisive, such as pressure reduction and pain relief. After our introduction, I was able to welcome three colleagues to our company. With the color of the curtains and the floor of the residential care center in mind, they listened and looked around. They then chose the Malsch Aura Loft nursing bed, with the footboard and headboard being manufactured in their desired color. In doing so, they selected a bed for Verburgt-Molhuysen Staete with a homely look and professional functionality." 

Verburgt-Molhuysen Staete is a small-scale residential care center in Oosterbeek near Arnhem, with thirty-five apartments spread over three villas. It is surrounded by a park and sits on a two-acre plot. Prenger: "Our history goes back almost 100 years, to the location of the current Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. It was a stately home in 1899, owned by the Oosterbeek vicar's daughter Catharina Johanna Molhuijsen and her wealthy husband Gerardus Verburgt. They were doing well financially. In 1914 Gerardus died and fourteen years later so did his wife Catharina. They remained childless and donated their fortune to the Verburgt-Molhuysen Foundation, in which two single sisters were commissioned to use the fortune to provide housing for elderly ladies of a well-to-do and civilized class and the Protestant religion. This was our starting point for a long time, but in the meantime our target group has changed from housing for the well-to-do to a place for people with a broad view of the world. For example, they have lived and worked abroad, such as doctors and scientists, who reside in our region again after retirement. The funny thing is that we are still over-represented by single ladies. That is apparently in our DNA."

In addition to the residential care center, Verburgt-Molhuysen Staete also has a day care location on the premises. People from the municipalities of Renkum, Wageningen and Arnhem come there. "The most important thing is that residents and visitors feel welcome and at home here, especially now that healthcare is changing considerably. Many private care providers have joined with a focus on dementia care. We continue to opt for a mix of residents; people with a limited care indication who still bike to the village, elderly people who need help with general daily living activities such as eating or dressing and residents with a nursing home indication who can no longer live independently. It is this variety of care that keeps our residential care center livable and social. Visitors see this too, to which one of them recently asked: who would I actually like to live with here?"

Lowenthal: "When choosing the care bed, appearance was therefore decisive, as were comfort and ease of operation. The Malsch Aura Loft nursing bed responds to this perfectly and can be lengthened or shortened in no time. Lowering it to twenty-five centimeters above the ground also offers more comfort than the usual forty centimeters on other beds. The bed rails provide support when getting up. In short: it is a bed that radiates homeliness and as Hans aptly pointed out: a care bed that the residents of Verburgt-Molhuysen Staete deserve."