Sustainable Development Report 2015

Excerpt from the interview with

Ronald De Buck

Managing Director of ASBL/VZW

Woon- en Zorgcentra De Foyer*

You say that your strategy is to place the resident at

the centre of your concerns. In concrete terms, what

are you doing?

R.D.

What interests us most is not the care. It’s the

resident. We’re doing everything based on the

resident’s needs, but according to our own

approach: freedom of choice and autonomy of the

resident. Anyone who stays with us continues to manage

his/her life. People have more value for us and deserve

more respect than all the rest. They also feel much better.

However, in order for there to be this freedom of choice

and autonomy, the building where our residents stay

must be designed in such a way that it allows them to

enjoy great freedom of movement as long as possible.

That’s why they feel comfortable with us.

Some foreign delegations have visited Weverbos and

its facility because they heard of the ‘resident centred

design’ concept. What is it?

R.D.

We recently received a Polish delegation who

expressed its amazement before this concept.

Putting the person at the centre of our concerns

means constructing a building that permits optimal care,

but especially constructing a building in which our

residents feel at their best. It is crucial for this option to

be taken starting from the design of the building. It is as

simple and as important as that.

‘HOME IS WHERE I AM CAREFREE’

(‘THUIS IS WAAR IK ZORGELOOS BEN’)

ASBL/VZW WZC De Foyer manages the Weverbos nursing

and care home, which is part of Cofinimmo’s portfolio.

This operator has a very clear vision and an innovative

approach that puts the needs of the resident at the

centre of its concerns.

New technologies are entering your industry. For

example, automation of medication distribution and

operation of the kitchen. Anything else?

R.D.

Those examples had been planned in the

building design. Four years later, we’ve made a

lot of progress. The goal is still the same: to

make our residents feel comfortable. For example, sleep

quality. Weverbos is insulated very well acoustically,

which allows us to greatly reduce the stress related to

noise for our patients with dementia. We’ve also noticed

that our consumption of psychotropic drugs is only a

third of that of other comparable institutions. Our

environment is quiet, relaxing, and stress-free, which is a

considerable step forward for these patients and their

family, so that they can come see mom or dad move

around alone and communicate with family instead of

being stuck in a wheelchair. We’re also working on

another concept: the house of comfort. Half of our

residents suffer from chronic pain. We’re exploring how

we can relieve the pain without using medication.

* The full interview with Ronald De Buck is available at