Sustainable Development Report 2015

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It is crucial for the offered service of care to be
adapted to each person, who is still more or less
autonomous, who lost a partner, who is able to
find an alternative, such as a place not too far
from his or her usual surroundings. For all these
situations, services must be adapted and, at the
same time, constitute an integrated package. For
example, it should be possible to move from a
service flat to a nursing and care home, or even
an intensive care facility, when necessary. This
should be done in collaboration with hospitals
and home care agencies, which play a key role.
Excerpt from the interview with Peter Degadt
Managing Director of Zorgnet Icuro
Quality care requires quality healthcare real estate.
What are the major trends, the major changes to be
expected in that sense in the hospital and care centre
sector?
P.D. Real estate is the setting in which we work. It
should be very flexible because our needs
change all the time. Look at what’s happening in
hospitals: before, it was corridors and beds; today, it’s
technical platforms where the patient stays for only a
few days. There’s lots of movement between those
coming in, those leaving, and those undergoing
treatment. A hospital is no longer just a place to go for
major treatments, not to mention operations and
emergencies. That changes everything in terms of
architectural design. A hospital is inconceivable without
peripheral buildings today, where a number of operations
and services can be organised.
For nursing homes, a distinction must be made based
on the targets. The “elderly person” no longer exists.
There’s a young generation of seniors, mediors, and
seniors who are still active but want some assistance, a
certain degree of security and services, such as meals,
a night guard, while remaining independent. Buildings
should reconcile this type of need with space to create
contacts, as we want to fight isolation.
There are also people who are housed in nursing and
care homes. These are long-term stays and care must be
maintained throughout this entire period. This involves
yet another architectural concept.
Are the people you host in your centres patients,
clients, or both?
P.D. They are first of all people who have
expectations and needs. Mentally, they should
be supported to allow them to find their way in
life and physically, they should receive care for somatic
problems. You have to see all these people as a relational
set. Depending on the circumstances, they may be a
customer – for example, someone who chooses to dine
at our facility – or a patient. It takes a holistic approach
and full attention to the person, who is at the centre of
everything we do.
Cofinimmo is a company that needs to make money
to remunerate its shareholders. You’re a social
entrepreneur. How do you reconcile these objectives
with a view to sustainable development?
P.D. We have analysed the existing needs, and we
are trying to respond to them. Cofinimmo is a
company that has a certain expertise in real
estate. We have to reconcile all that in a “win-win”
situation. We know what is good for the citizen, for the
resident, the patient, someone in need of care, and
Cofinimmo must respond to them by using its real estate
know-how. Most important for us is good value for
money. We have nothing against returns. We understand
that someone who entrusts his money with Cofinimmo
requires a certain return in exchange. But the question
for the investor is often knowing which return, whereas
we offer a sustainable return. Not the highest, but a
sustainable return. The long-term plan, the long-term
vision makes it possible to have a “win-win” relationship
with Cofinimmo.
* The full interview with Peter Degadt is available at ).