Maria Middelares General Hospital earns the label of ‘Sports Company’ 2022 - 2023

For Maria Middelares General Hospital, our employees’ health comes first. Exercising and exercising together is an important lever. The hospital has released resources for the implementation of a sustainable welfare policy and is fully engaged in the roll-out of new initiatives. This investment has been rewarded by Sport Flanders with the label of ‘Sports Company’ 2022 – 2023. This makes the hospital the first in East Flanders to earn this label.

Within the Green Team, a hospital-wide working group that is committed to a more ecological and healthy hospital environment, colleagues from various services are joining forces on a number of important themes, such as the pursuit of a healthy living and residential environment and more sustainable mobility. Our objective? Improving the exercise habits of colleagues in tandem with a healthy diet and better psychosocial well-being. And to accomplish all this in a pleasant, green and open framework.

Several nice achievements:

• Pleasant environment: the Finnish track on the property and opening up the rehabilitation area outside opening hours for patients, for example.
• Support with exercise: the presence of the Sports Medical Centre in Ghent-Brugges, where employees can also go for an individualised sports programme, exercise tips for remote workers, putting a face to the gym stairs, etc.
• Mobility policy: bicycle leasing, bicycle lessons and bicycle allowance for employees; introduction of the rush-hour test caravan to try new means of transport, for example.

General director Christophe Mouton proudly reacted to the label with the following:

‘A healthy mind in a healthy body. It’s a centuries-old saying, but is more current than ever. We want to fully commit ourselves to the well-being of our employees and offer them the necessary support to function optimally. This label is satisfying recognition for our efforts. We continue to look for new ways to get our employees moving. I’m extremely grateful to our Green Team, a hospital-wide working group made up of a large group of committed employees, for supporting this.’