AZ Turnhout

AZ Turnhout (Algemeen Ziekenhuis Turnhout) is a regional hospital based in Turnhout, Belgium. It was created on 1 September 2009 through the merger of two originally Catholic hospitals: the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis and the Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint-Jozef. The merged institution operates as a non-profit association (vzw) with two campuses in Turnhout — campus Sint-Elisabeth and campus Sint-Jozef — together accounting for 647 hospital beds. Campus Sint-Elisabeth has 342 recognised beds and focuses on intensive and urgent admissions, while campus Sint-Jozef has 305 recognised beds and concentrates on planned admissions and acute care for mother and child. A long-term plan, decided in 2012, is to concentrate all hospital activities in a new building on the Sint-Jozef campus. The hospital's roots reach back to 1608, when the Gasthuiszusters founded the institution that would later become the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis. That hospital moved several times, became a public institution in 1925, and was established at its current Rubensstraat site in 1957. In 2007 it was incorporated as the vzw Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis, with the city of Turnhout, the Turnhout OCMW and the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis physicians' association as founders. The Sint-Jozefziekenhuis traces its origins to 1972, when the vzw CM-klinieken was founded by the Christian Mutualiteit; the Sint-Jozefkliniek opened in 1973, a 12-hectare site on the Steenweg op Merksplas was purchased, and the Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint-Jozef opened there in 1981. In April 2009 the two hospitals signed a merger agreement, effective 1 September 2009, creating AZ Turnhout as a vzw. Its partners are the OCMW/Stad Turnhout, the vzw Kristelijke Medico-Sociale Instellingen (KMSI, the former operator of AZ Sint-Jozef), the vzw Vereniging Ziekenhuisartsen Turnhout (VZT) and the vzw Huisartsen Vereniging Turnhout (HVRT), giving hospital physicians and general practitioners a say in governance. The chairman of the board of directors is Guy Peeters. In December 2016, as part of the hospital reform under health minister Maggie De Block, AZ Turnhout joined AZ Herentals, Sint-Dimpna Ziekenhuis Geel and Heilig Hartziekenhuis Mol to form the Ziekenhuisnetwerk Kempen. AZ Turnhout provides a broad range of hospital functions, care programmes and medical and medico-technical services across its two campuses. It has pursued external quality validation: in October 2015 both campuses were inspected without notice by the Flemish Zorginspectie, with no serious shortcomings found, and in March 2017 it obtained institution-wide accreditation under the Qmentum programme of Qualicor Europe, valid until 2021. It also participates in the Flemish Indicators Project for Patients and Professionals (VIP²). In 2015 the hospital reported 180 physicians and 1,891 staff members.

The history of AZ Turnhout is the story of two hospitals that merged in 2009. The Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis was founded in 1608 by the Gasthuiszusters (hospital sisters). In 1875 it moved to a building on the site where the De Warande cultural centre now stands. In 1925 its management was transferred to the Commission for Public Assistance, making it a public institution. In 1957 it moved to a new building on the Rubensstraat, where it is still located. In 2007 the hospital was incorporated as the vzw Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis, with the city of Turnhout, the OCMW of Turnhout and the Artsenvereniging Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis as founders. The Sint-Jozefziekenhuis traces its history to 1972, when the vzw CM-klinieken was founded by the Christelijke Mutualiteit. In 1973 it started the Sint-Jozefkliniek in the Mermansstraat and took over the management of the Kraamkliniek Maria-Gabriël in the Korte Begijnenstraat from the vzw KMSL (another association founded by the CM). At the same time a 12-hectare site on the Steenweg op Merksplas was purchased. At the end of 1973 a planning permit was obtained from the Ministry of Public Health for the construction of a new hospital on this site. Construction began in 1976 and in 1981 the Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint-Jozef opened. With this opening, the old Sint-Jozefkliniek and the Kraamkliniek Maria-Gabriël were closed. In April 2009 the Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint-Jozef and the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis signed a merger agreement. On 1 September 2009 the merger became reality and the two campuses continued as AZ Turnhout. The merged hospital took the form of a vzw with the following partners: the OCMW/Stad Turnhout; the vzw Kristelijke Medico-Sociale Instellingen (KMSI, the former operator of AZ Sint-Jozef); the vzw Vereniging Ziekenhuisartsen Turnhout (VZT); and the vzw Huisartsen Vereniging Turnhout (HVRT). Through the latter two vzw's, hospital physicians and general practitioners from the Turnhout area also gained a say in management. At the merger it was decided to transform campus Sint-Elisabeth into a campus for intensive and emergency-related admissions and campus Sint-Jozef into a campus for planned admissions and acute care for mother and child. In 2012 it was decided to bring all hospital activities together in the future on the campus Sint-Jozef. In December 2016, in the context of the hospital reform under Minister of Public Health Maggie De Block, AZ Turnhout founded the Ziekenhuisnetwerk Kempen together with AZ Herentals, Sint-Dimpna Ziekenhuis Geel and Heilig Hartziekenhuis Mol. On quality, in October 2015 both campuses of AZ Turnhout were inspected without notice by the Flemish Zorginspectie regarding the care trajectory of the internal medicine patient. The five themes checked were staff, safe care, standardised care, hygiene and communication. The MUG service, emergency departments, intensive care unit, hospital pharmacies, internal medicine nursing departments and non-surgical day hospitals were visited. The inspections revealed no serious shortcomings, and AZ Turnhout therefore did not receive a second re-inspection. In addition to supervision by the Zorginspectie, AZ Turnhout also opted for accreditation under the Qmentum programme of Qualicor Europe. In December 2015 it applied for institution-wide accreditation, followed by an audit visit in January 2017. In March 2017 AZ Turnhout obtained its institution-wide accreditation, valid until 2021. Flemish hospitals that opt for accreditation are exempted by the Zorginspectie from inspection of the quality system behind the care provided. Finally, AZ Turnhout also participates in the Flemish Indicators Project for Patients and Professionals (VIP²), which compares the quality of their care with other hospitals using quality indicators. As of 2017, for the domain 'breast cancer' AZ Turnhout reached the target values for six of the seven measurement points. For the domain 'patient experiences' it reached the target value for one of the three measurement points. Patients would recommend the hospital relatively little to others (62%) and it received an overall rating of 55%. For the domain 'hospital-wide' it reached the target values for two of the five measurement points. Especially the completeness of medication prescriptions scored low: 56%. The measurement results of these quality indicators are published by the Flemish Agency for Care and Health on a website. In 2015 AZ Turnhout reported 180 physicians and 1,891 staff members (1,370.26...).

• 2017

  In January an audit visit took place; in March AZ Turnhout obtained institution-wide accreditation valid until 2021.

• 2016

  In December AZ Turnhout founded the Ziekenhuisnetwerk Kempen with AZ Herentals, Sint-Dimpna Ziekenhuis Geel and Heilig Hartziekenhuis Mol.

• 2015

  In October both campuses were inspected without notice by the Flemish Zorginspectie; in December AZ Turnhout applied for institution-wide accreditation.

• 2012

  It was decided to bring all hospital activities together in the future on the campus Sint-Jozef.

• 2009

  In April the two hospitals signed a merger agreement; on 1 September the merger took effect and the campuses continued as AZ Turnhout.

• 2007

  The Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis was incorporated as the vzw Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis.

• 1981

  The Algemeen Ziekenhuis Sint-Jozef opened; the old Sint-Jozefkliniek and Kraamkliniek Maria-Gabriël closed.

• 1976

  Construction of the new hospital on the Steenweg op Merksplas site began.

• 1973

  The Sint-Jozefkliniek opened in the Mermansstraat and management of the Kraamkliniek Maria-Gabriël was taken over; a 12-hectare site on the Steenweg op Merksplas was purchased and a planning permit for a new hospital was obtained.

• 1972

  The vzw CM-klinieken was founded by the Christelijke Mutualiteit.

• 1957

  The Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis moved to a new building on the Rubensstraat.

• 1925

  Management of the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis was transferred to the Commission for Public Assistance, making it a public institution.

• 1875

  The Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis moved to a building on the site of the current De Warande cultural centre.

• 1608

  The Gasthuiszusters founded the institution that later became the Sint-Elisabethziekenhuis.

Regional non-profit hospital providing acute, intensive and mother-and-child care across two campuses in Turnhout, with a planned future consolidation on the Sint-Jozef campus.

• Hospital functions

• Care programmes

• Medical and medico-technical services

• Emergency care (spoed)

• Intensive care

• Mother and child acute care

• Planned admissions

1. 1AZ Turnhout - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Algemeen Ziekenhuis Turnhout - Wikipedia (NL)nl.wikipedia.org