Living in the neighborhood

ZuidOostZorg is mainly active in the southeast of Friesland. The organization has 13 locations, but deliberately doesn’t speak of nursing or care homes. They are “living in the neighborhood” locations, open to residents, family, neighbors and anyone who drops by. ZuidOostZorg’s ambition is clear: that everyone grows older in a vital way.

For everyone who lives at or visits a location, it comes down to three things. Meeting, because everyone should have an enjoyable day. Nutrition, rich in protein and in tune with the seasons. And exercise, with its own movement policy. That policy is not “everyone must exercise for half an hour”, but rather: movement is part of the day.

A nudge in the right direction

For Susanne, Bike Labyrinth is exactly the kind of nudge that fits ZuidOostZorg’s mission. That’s why she wants Bike Labyrinth to be accessible to residents. It starts with the location. ZuidOostZorg has no exercise rooms but movement squares: the Bike Labyrinths are placed in freely accessible spaces or in hallways. “We researched where Bike Labyrinth was used the most. For one month it stood by the entrance, and the next month by the elevator. In that second spot, it was used up to three times as much.”

ZuidOostZorg’s staff make Bike Labyrinth even more appealing to residents. They add the location or city where the Bike Labyrinth is placed as a favorite. All Bike Labyrinths also have a timer switch. Nobody has to turn them on or off, and residents can cycle whenever they want, from early in the morning until late in the evening. If it’s on, it gets used.

Family is also involved. Susanne regularly hosts family evenings where she shares tips and tricks for half an hour on how to help someone move. Together with the Welfare team, she organizes a market where families can see everything there is to experience in the home, and Bike Labyrinth is always part of it. Susanne encourages residents’ families to go for a ride together.

“We often tell families to take their relative to Bike Labyrinth. Together they can cycle through the bulb region, for example, and experience a beautiful story. Even when the legs no longer cooperate, or when talking is difficult because of dementia or a brain hemorrhage, cycling together and meeting each other is much more important. It often results in a beautiful encounter.”

Cycling leads to stories

What touches Susanne most are the stories that come out through cycling. “Even if you can no longer go outside, you can still experience a location. Residents talk about their lives, linked to the images they see. With people with dementia, whole stories sometimes come out. If you ask what they ate, they don’t know the answer. But when I let them cycle through the bulb fields, they tell you about everything they see.” In addition, Bike Labyrinth also adds value to the social aspect at ZuidOostZorg. Susanne tells us that there are two residents who always cycle together. One watches, the other cycles, and along the way they chat about everything they see.

Susanne's advice: dare to experiment

Something Susanne would like to pass on to other care providers? “Think carefully about the position of Bike Labyrinth. There will always be objections, but then you ask the question: if it’s used more, do we find that important or not? You could, for example, place Bike Labyrinth in a different spot for a month. Doesn’t work? Then you come up with something else. The goal is never to cycle as hard or as much as possible, but to have fun. For me, fun means meeting each other and getting into conversation with each other. I think a lot of connection happens through Bike Labyrinth,” Susanne concludes. ZuidOostZorg shows how much attention and care can go into movement and connection, and we are proud that Bike Labyrinth gets to play a part in that.

Curious what Bike Labyrinth can mean for your residents? Request a free brochure here.