Practice managers and community links provide connection

Will Vorstermans is a Practice Support Officer for Elderly Care at Medical Center the Linde in Kerkrade. For more than 38 years she worked in the emergency room as a nurse. Two years ago, she trained as a practice support worker focused on the elderly and stayed where she did her internship. "If you had told me 10 years ago that I was going to work in elder care, I would have laughed at you. But I like it a lot". She emphasizes every word to underscore her enthusiasm. "Of course, I already had a lot of experience with the elderly through the emergency room, but what's so great about this job is that I'm at the front door. As a practice nurse, you're looking in advance at what people want and what they might need help with in the future."

Will takes "being at the front door" literally, as she makes many home visits. This can be in response to a question, but also on her own initiative. She maps all 75+ people in the Map neighborhood and maintains short lines of communication with the visible links of Meander Thuiszorg. "People often feel more at ease at home. Moreover, it gives me a better picture of the home situation. If someone has trouble with housework, shopping or administration, you often see that reflected in the home. Also, when I go to put the flu shot at home, I look beyond that. How vulnerable is someone? Is there incipient dementia? Is the informal caregiver in danger of becoming overburdened? And what also comes up very often is loneliness. People then say: I am not lonely, but I am often alone. This is very close. This is where the community link comes in. Vivian Wetzels and Yvon Alberti take on that role. For example, when elderly people find it exciting to visit the Sjevemethoes, one of the two ladies goes with them. Once that first threshold is overcome, it often goes naturally."

Will has a great example of this. "I was recently with a lady whose husband had died. He was always very sociable and caused a stir. Mrs. herself is more in the background and fell into quite a hole. The first time she came to the Sjevemethoes with the neighborhood link she made the acquaintance of a 91-year-old woman. They were sitting together and when a third person came to the table, the 91-year-old introduced her as "my friend. Ms. immediately felt included in the group and now goes there weekly. She now finds it the end." 

Like Will, neighborhood links Vivian Wetzels and Yvon Alberti make house calls. While Will emphasizes physical Health, the neighborhood links are there for the social aspect. "It's so nice that this option is there. The moment I experience loneliness, I have a short line to the neighborhood link. Both ladies have a tremendous amount of experience and thanks to their mediation, you see a lot of people revived. For example, there are two ladies who both had some trouble doing errands. They were paired up and that is now their weekly outing. Conversely, the neighborhood links also ask me for help. For example, to do a memory test or measure blood pressure. We meet on a regular basis, also with the rest of the core team. So much has been accomplished in the past year. I'm often asked if I can put that into figures, but that's impossible. It's in small things. People who revive after an afternoon in the Sjevemethoes where every day a different activity takes place, or who now have a regular buddy to do something together. Or just the fact that you offer a listening ear is worth a lot. It all doesn't have to be grand and compelling; that's precisely its strength. Older people have usually worked hard all their lives and been there for everyone. Now they often feel they are too much and dare not ask for anything. That you can open a door for that is the best thing you can offer..."

The collaboration is an initiative of Kerkrade municipality and MeanderGroep Zuid-Limburg.