How Zuyderland Zorgcentra took the step toward a modern and self-reliant crisis organisation
At Zuyderland Zorgcentra, safety has always been a high priority. Whereas the focus in the 1980s was mainly on firefighting and traditional emergency response (BHV), over the years the organisation has developed into a broad crisis organisation prepared for a wide range of incidents. Ron Jacobs, responsible for safety within Zuyderland Zorgcentra, explains how this development unfolded and the role MultiBel now plays in strengthening preparedness and self-reliance.
From firefighting to comprehensive crisis management
Zuyderland’s safety approach has undergone significant evolution since 1984. Ron reflects:
“In the early days, safety was mainly about fire. Employees were trained in breathing apparatus, cooperation with the fire brigade, and the basics of emergency response. Large organizations were simply required to have this properly organized.”
That era is now long behind us. Due to changing regulations, limited availability of fire services, and new risks such as ICT failures and issues with water supply, Zuyderland had to become increasingly self-reliant. Emergency response (BHV) became part of a full crisis structure.
“It’s no longer just about extinguishing fires,” Ron explains. “We must be able to quickly bring residents and staff to safety and limit a fire to a single space. Compartmentation (= dividing a building into smaller, sealed sections to limit risks such as fire) has become essential.”
To ensure this level of preparedness, Zuyderland regularly conducts exercises with both operational crisis teams at individual locations and the central crisis team. These range from targeted partial scenarios to full-scale escalation exercises.
Choosing MultiBel: one device, more overview
When the old pagers had to be phased out, Zuyderland faced an important decision: which alerting system would offer future-proofing, reliability, and reduced burden on care staff?
“Within the Zuyderland Zorgcentra, we wanted to move away from separate pagers and toward a single smartphone that supports everything. MultiBel was already being used to alert crisis teams, and MultiBel could also send fire alarms. Partly due to the multiple functionalities offered by one provider, the choice fell on MultiBel,” Ron explains.
The rollout started in 2024 at the Eghterhof location in Echt. MultiBel has since been introduced in four care centers and is being rolled out in phases to all eleven care centers, so that ultimately every location will work with MultiBel.
Employees respond positively:
The biggest advantage we hear back? People are happy that the pagers are gone.
A broader safety landscape
In addition to MultiBel, Zuyderland uses several complementary systems for personal alarms and emergency buttons. For example, staff conducting home visits work with a direct connection to an alarm centre.
Within the care centres, internal assistance calls and external emergency calls are received on the same devices as MultiBel. This creates an integrated approach that supports both staff and residents.
A future-proof safety organization
The Zuyderland case shows how a large healthcare organisation not only keeps pace with changing legislation and technology, but also actively looks ahead. By investing in modern alerting, a strong crisis structure, and continuous optimisation, Zuyderland creates a safe environment for residents, visitors, and employees.
MultiBel plays an important role in this as the connecting link between technology, processes, and people.
