Festive launch of The Hague Healthcare Innovation Hub: for the development and support of future healthcare.

On Thursday, February 1, the municipality of The Hague and the various affiliated partners festively launched the new Healthcare Innovation Hub during a meeting on the Leyweg. More than 200 guests were present. The relevant Hague councilors Saskia Bruines (Economic Affairs) and Mariëlle Vavier (Healthcare) were present, as well as the various partners.

The entire healthcare sector is facing various challenges: including a growing demand for care, a shrinking labor market and a shift from care to the home. Healthcare technology can provide a solution to keep care and support affordable and accessible. But what will living at home longer with technology look like in the future? Based on this idea, the Healthcare Innovation Hub in The Hague was developed and launched yesterday.

Unique concept

The Healthcare Innovation Hub is an internationally unique concept where healthcare innovation takes place physically under one roof from start to finish. Nowhere else in the world are all stages of healthcare innovation located in one building. This building will include space for innovative primary care and welfare, (applied) research, education, a healthcare technology demonstration home and lending service, information and support for those who want to work in healthcare, space for innovative start-ups and scale-ups and space for meeting. The Healthcare Innovation Hub is also a unique and progressive concept from an international perspective. Nowhere else do residents, healthcare, entrepreneurs, education and research come together to develop and deliver the care and support of the future.

Councilor Vavier indicates: “We are proud of this initiative, which not only improves care locally, but which will also soon develop the care of the future for the region, the Netherlands and beyond.” Councilor Bruines adds: Start-ups will soon be under one roof here with their potential customers; that is unique. They will soon be able to ask end users in their own working environment what they think of the product. In this way, better solutions are developed that reach the market faster.”

The affiliated partners were all present at the launch, here are some reactions:

“The healthcare innovation hub gives us as a university of applied sciences the opportunity to shape our education and research close to the reality of residents in the city” – Luc de Witte, lecturer in Technology for Healthcare – The Hague University of Applied Sciences

“The care hub will have a positive impact on The Hague Southwest. Knowledge from partners comes together here. Resulting in the creation of a network and ultimately jobs in the Southwest” – Harry Wientjens, Director of Cooperative Rabobank

“Elderly care should not be missing from the conversation about the use of healthcare technology in an aging society”. – Gerbrand de Jong, Information & Automation Manager – Saffier

The affiliated partners of the Healthcare Innovation Hub, in addition to the municipality of The Hague, are: the Hague University, Florence, Haga Hospital, Hadoks, Innovation Quarter, KPN, Leiden University Medical Center, National Program The Hague Southwest, Rabobank, Randstad, ROC Mondriaan/CIV, Sapphire, TNO, TCare, Especially and ZWconnect. 

Visitors were able to visit the building for the first time on Thursday. The official opening is scheduled for February 2025, when all facilities offered by the Healthcare Innovation Hub can be officially used.