An inclusive society for people with dementia;
Showcasing initial steps from an EU-Healthy Ageing
region in The Netherlands

Bart Scheerder
Director Innovation Digital Health (dHealth.nl)
International Relations &Public Private Partnerships (umcg.nl)
Well Ageing Society Summit, October 2020

Harmony & Quadruple Helix Collaboration

和2

The perspective from academia:
basic and applied research into dementia

3University Medical Center Groningen-Top 100 in all major university rankings-Core theme: Healthy Ageing-Research strategy:

Key Assets
Fundamental Science for
the Biology of Ageing
eriba.umcg.nl

Research, Education &Innovation for Public Healthwww.rug.nl/aletta

www.lifelines.nl

Large scale population based cohort study andbiobank with data and biologic sample collection
from 167.000 Participants for 30 Years

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Innovation and Dementia
As people with dementia progress to later stages of the disease their need forsupport increases whereas their ability to adopt change gradually decreases toan absolute zero
We have state of the art:
• Applications of AI, ML, Big data• ‘Smart’ living environments• Robotics and domotics

We need:• Excellence in implementation / social
innovation– Tap into preserved abilities / senses– Create adaptive living and care environments

5‘Groninger Zorgakkoord’ (regional care covenant)• Public private partnership for thetransition from 20 ‘old’ to 9 newstate of the art care facilities• Inside society, not outside• Professional organization to
support individual care providers
to create the right facilities• €330m investment

6Considerations include:• Buildings are earthquake proof (a shared regional challenge)• Mixed groups of residents creating synergies• Buildings are small scaled and integrated in the environment• Buildings should be circular, green and adaptive to change• Smart living and caring technologies are seamlessly integrated• The built environment and its societal functions are reciprocal forboth the region and the care facilities• Long term sustainability of care is essential
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At institutional level• Harmony in the built environment• Smart design and smart solutions

Het Buitenhuys

8‘Eendracht’ (和)• Repurposing from industrial site toresidential area
• Build first, move later• Smart design and smart solutions

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Sustainability and integration

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European societal collaborations

11In conclusion…
• A dementia friendly society needs collaborations of multiplestakeholders• The core must be Harmony, 和• As UMCG we seek collaborative research partners to further
develop scientific knowledge on the road towards effectively
treating, preventing and ultimately ending dementia• We invite anyone to (digitally) visit our region and learn fromour examples and teach us about their solutions

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Acknowledgements• Eric van Kooij, Paul Zwetsloot, Yuko Kikuta, Mihoko
Ishii of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands• Erik Pentinga of the Task Force Healthcare• Daan Bultje of the Healthy Ageing Network Northern
Netherlands (hannn.eu)• Evelien Klasens, Leonie Wendker & Beatrice
Montesano of KAW architects (www.kaw.nl)• Several inspiring researchers at UMCG
• My grandmother who suffered from late stage dementia
for far too long13