Hospice Het Alteveer in Assen opens doors to a brand new building

There is a high demand for care for people who will soon die and who want to spend their last days, weeks or months in hospice. Due to the aging population, there is a greater need for this than in the past. This is also apparent in Het Alteveer, because the new building will be almost completely full in a week’s time.

“Two guests from our old hospice on the Burgemeester Agterstraat in the center of Assen come over with the wish ambulance. And we already have three new admissions in the planning,” says Piet Gorter, chairman of the board of the Stichting Hospice Het Alteveer Assen.

The hospice has six guest rooms for people receiving palliative care. This means that they are in the last phase of their lives and only receive care to make that phase as comfortable as possible. There was only room for three people in the old building. In order to avoid a waiting list and the risk that places will not be released in time, it was decided to build a new building in 2020.

The hospice is designed in such a way that people will feel at home. In addition to their own bedroom and bathroom, people also have their own terrace. There are special family rooms, where guests can retreat with relatives, and a children’s room where children who come to visit can play quietly. For family members who want to stay the night, there are two guest rooms.

A great asset is the common room, the living room, where guests who are still mobile can go to get in touch with the other temporary residents. “The volunteers who work here are always present in this room. We serve food here three times a day and serve coffee,” says coordinator Ricarda de Jong Posthumus. “In this place we can offer our guests even more comfort than before. You can receive family there at any time of the day. Just like at home.”

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