Jeroen Bosch Hospital encourages breaks for staff and patients

The Jeroen Bosch Hospital in 's-Hertogenbosch sees IkPas as a great opportunity to highlight alcohol use among patients and employees. Nurse and Project Leader Alcohol Problems Jacqueline Bisschop talks about the approach, the way to get there and the expectations.

Jacqueline, and her colleagues from the gastrointestinal department, are working on creating awareness about alcohol on a daily basis: “We regularly see patients with an alcohol problem returning to the hospital. That is why we started the Alcohol Problems project. Together with the care network around the patient, we want to prevent readmissions and better support patients. In the hospital we do this, for example, by having motivational conversations with patients and by regularly consulting with, for example, the GGD, psychiatric social work from the neighborhood and addiction care. But it's a tricky theme to tackle. People do not like to talk about their alcohol consumption and often think that it is not that bad for them. That is why IkPas is so pleasant to use. It's a light-hearted campaign with a big impact."

Now thirty days

In 2019, Jacqueline and a team organized a first IkPas campaign within the Jeroen Bosch Hospital. “Then we opted for the 40-day fasting period,” says Jacqueline. “Now we consciously opt for the thirty-day period in January, because it evokes just a little more recognition among people. Many have already heard of Dry January and we are cleverly responding to that.”

warm up

To warm up employees and patients for the break period, posters were hung in visible places such as the canteen, reception hall and patient counters. Also, television screens were provided with positive calls to participate. The message: 'we do it together' is very important here, says Jacqueline. “As a hospital, we clearly show that we support this campaign and that it is fun to participate. Challenge yourself, see what it brings you and experience the benefits.”

Plan, develop and roll out

Rolling out an IkPas campaign within a company requires the necessary planning and coordination; something that Jacqueline and her team started in good time: “In October I informed our network partners, such as the GGD and Novadic-Kentron”, explains Jacqueline. “Fortunately, I could immediately count on a lot of support. In November I started planning, submitting applications and working out the communication, the promotion started in December and the break period takes place in January. We have chosen to organize a separate employee and patient registration day. Our employees were invited on December 17th to drink non-alcoholic cocktails and learn more about IkPas. There were tablets ready for you to register immediately. We also handed out folders and IkPas buttons. On December 30th, together with the GGD, we will have a stand at the entrance of the hospital. Here, patients and visitors can find fun alcohol-free recipes, fill in a list of questions about alcohol, experience what an excess of alcohol does to you by wearing 'drunken glasses' and register on the spot for the IkPas campaign using tablets. Participants receive a bottle of water with the IkPas logo on it.”

The expectation

Because the Jeroen Bosch Hospital is promoting the IkPas campaign more widely this year than last year, Jacqueline expects the number of registrations to be higher than in the previous edition. Jacqueline: “We receive positive reactions from all sides and we see that many interested parties immediately convert their enthusiasm into a registration on the spot. Those who don't sign up right away hopefully think about it at home or talk about it with their partner, whereupon they decide himself then still to sign up."

Do you, like the Jeroen Bosch Hospital, also want to encourage your employees, colleagues, visitors, residents, customers or clients to take an alcohol break? Take a look at our range of company and municipal packages. We are happy to help you roll out your IkPas campaign.