If you ask care home manager Elles de Boer of Martha Flora in Bavel (The Netherlands) why she has brought Familynet into her care home, she can explain it in great detail. She begins with a telling example.
Elles: “Recently a woman with dementia came to live here, who had to leave her own home in a hurry because it was no longer possible. She was very confused and the daughter was at a loss. The woman had always been fond of flowers and we did something with that fact. After a week we went to the market with her, bought flowers and arranged them together. Of course pictures were taken and we put them on Familynet. She could hardly believe what the daughter saw. She said: ‘I read in the Electronic Patient Record that she was doing well and that you had been to the market. But it really dawned on me through the messages on Familynet.’ It gave the daughter a very good feeling.”
Elles de Boer from Martha Flora:
“What the daughter saw then she could hardly believe”
Elles de Boer
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Elles beautifully formulates the core of Familynet: “With Familynet you can capture and pass on beautiful moments.” Martha Flora works with seven principles, all of which are aimed at the happiness of the residents. Elles: “Familynet helps us to share our intentions with family members. Employees also appreciate that, because you often get positive reactions and compliments on Familynet. Sometimes a family member asks: ‘I don’t see my mother in the picture, was she there?’ You can answer such a question quickly, so that people are not left with insecure feelings.”
Family first
Elles de Boer had already gained experience with Familynet at her previous employer: “A very user-friendly tool”, she calls it. “When I came to work at Martha Flora, I felt a need for family members other than what they read in the EPD. Logically, in the EPD, communication between professionals comes first. At Familynet it is different. There you focus entirely on family members, which makes our relationship with them noticeably better.”
Martha Flora’s management has now decided to start using Familynet at all 14 care homes in 2022.
