Inspiration and study visit to The Hogeweyk

"It’s a unique place, and when you visit you can’t help thinking: if I’m unlucky enough to be diagnosed with dementia, this is the place I’d like to be. And I should add: The Hogeweyk isn’t some exclusive private facility for the super-rich. Working with existing budgets and a lot of creativity, this care community delivers a top-level performance day in, day out."

"Thank you again for your hospitality when we visited back in January. It was a fascinating and illuminating visit."

"I would like to express my gratitude to you for taking the time to host myself and the Canadian delegation at the village. Addressing dementia is one of my top priorities as Canada’s Minister of Health. It is also an issue to which I feel personally connected. Having the opportunity to tour The Hogeweyk and learn firsthand about your innovative approach to caring for people living with dementia was one of the highlights of my visit to The Netherlands."

"I had read and heard about The Hogeweyk but I did not really know what to expect. Would a trip halfway around the world be of value to me? Well it was. It really was. It amazed me and opened my eyes to possibilities I had not even dreamed about. I guess I became involved in Alzheimer’s at the level I was faced with. I did not see the wider picture or possibilities other than the ones in front of me. Your model has furnished me with a new set of beliefs. The amazing thing is that it is just so sensible."

"Mensen met dementie willen graag zo lang mogelijk thuis blijven wonen. Er komt vaak een moment dat dat niet langer gaat. Dan is het voor deze mensen het fijnst als een zorglocatie het ‘thuisgevoel’ kan geven. De Hogeweyk is hier een prachtig voorbeeld van. Kwaliteit van zorg en daarmee kwaliteit van leven zoals ik dat voor me zie voor alle verpleeghuizen, dat is hier al. Hier weten betrokken bestuurders, zorgverleners en mantelzorgers elkaar te vinden voor een waardige oude dag voor bewoners."

"It was really interesting to see your organisation and to share ideas and discuss challenges and opportunities with you. Your approach stimulated much positive discussion within our Brazilian group and delegates were extremely happy about the whole visit. The group was really impressed by all the respect and dignity that you are bringing to life in severe dementia. Having the chance to visit The Hogeweyk was a great way to end our age care study tour."

"I'm that emotional guy who cried a bit when I was telling about my impressions after your lecture and the entire visitation. In fact, it was my dream that started the project of visiting Hogeweyk. When I was studying about the place and I decided to invite those friends - most of them are doctors - to board in this adventure with me."

"A genuinely inspirational place and it’s easy to see why the world is talking about The Hogeweyk as a best in class accommodation solution for persons suffering from dementia. Whilst many countries will promote such solutions, very few will offer appropriate levels of remuneration to enable services to be delivered in such settings."

"On behalf of both Daimler and WDHB I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your presentation and participation in our program. The Hogeweyk is beautiful and our dialogue was incredibly powerful for the Daimler delegation. They were quite animated discussing what they had experienced during this segment of the program. Many of the points you made came up during our internal debriefings as thought provoking, compelling and eye-opening."

"Thank you again for all your time and hospitality during my visit to The Hogeweyk last week. It was a great pleasure to meet you, and I appreciated all the effort you spent teaching about the philosophy and answering questions. I will share our discussions with my team here this week, and I am looking forward to continuing to explore how we may work together and support each other’s missions."

"Noch einmal herzlichen Dank für den freundlichen Empfang und die sehr interessante und informative Darstellung Ihrer Einrichtung. Wir sind sehr begeistert von Ihrem Konzept. Wir haben selten so gut gestimmte Bewohner und gut gelaunte Mitarbeiter gesehen. Es wäre schön, wenn sich so ein Konzept bei uns realisieren lassen könnte."

"I have the pleasure of making frequent visits to The Hogeweyk with groups of clients: care workers, local politicians, municipality administrators. And we have always left the place impressed by the dedication of the founders, their pride and fulfilment with the project. As a start-upper, I know that success lies not in conceptual thinking – but in implementation. And my, have they managed to implement their concept at The Hogeweyk."

"A thank you from us at PwC Japan. It was a pleasure to meeting you Iris. Ware truly appreciative of the well informed and structured explanation and tour of The Hogeweyk. We left extremely impressed and inspired by what you are doing, as well as becoming very intrigued by your business model. We hope you will continue being a safe and comfortable best alternative to dementia patients own homes."

"Thank you so much Jannette and Iris. It was a very powerful experience, and I look forward to following up."