Representing the Surinamese government, Elise Carter describes her recent experience with Dutch Hospital Design during the preliminary design phase of the Wanica Health Center.

In October 2010 Gelre Hospital in Zutphen, The Netherlands, opened a new, modern building. Hendrik Jan Koppelman, healthcare manager, speaks enthusiastically about a new and innovative implemented logistics concept that enables patients to register themselves using the self-service check-in stations in the entrance hall.

Developing a new healthcare facility is not an occasion that arises frequently for most people. If you get this extraordinary challenge you want to build the best possible facility. But what is the best? ‘The best’ involves finance, safety, flexibility, efficiency, usability, sustainability, patient friendliness or perhaps rather the perfect balance between all these aspects.

A magnificent hospital on a new site. With promising elements like Planetree and the Living Building Concept. Construction coordinator Freek Jan Kossen is closely involved in the project to design the new Gemini Hospital in Den Helder. Even though the current economic climate has slowed progress, he talks about the project enthusiastically.