It is 1 p.m. when a bell sounds in the central hall of the nursing home. The employees distribute ice creams to the residents. It is one of the parts of the heat protocol.
“You don’t want the residents to be overcome by the heat,” says Evelien Posthuma of the Wellbeing and Daily Activities Team. “That’s quite exciting.”
The heat reached its peak this afternoon, but fortunately 86-year-old resident Arie Punt is not bothered by it yet. “We have fans upstairs, so that’s fine.” He enjoys his ice cream to the fullest.
More broth, less coffee
However, extra measures have been taken since yesterday to make residents as comfortable as possible. Because it doesn’t stop at handing out ice creams. “Both is also distributed for extra salt and water and less coffee, because it dries out,” says Ivo Klok of the catering team.
“We also look at the activities that are and are not possible,” Posthuma adds. “It’s too hot for gym, for example. We keep the windows and curtains closed in the rooms and the air conditioning on.”
“And next week we’ll be going around with sorbet.”