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Dagbesteding De Boomgaard is day care for older people who live at home, including people with early memory problems and people who feel lonely. It is an old fruit farm at the edge of Vlietstad, with an orchard of forty fruit trees, a vegetable garden, a farmhouse kitchen, a workshop in the old barn and animals. There are at most 16 guests a day, with three support workers and often a volunteer.

De Boomgaard is open Monday to Friday, from 9.30 to 16.00. It is closed on public holidays. You can come on one or more fixed days a week. You can call on weekdays from 8.30 to 16.30 on 0123 45 67 20. Referrers call the coordinator on 0123 45 67 21.

Guests arrive by minibus between 8.45 and 9.30; people who come by themselves are welcome from 9.15. At 9.30 there is coffee and the paper. The morning activity starts at 10.15. A hot lunch is served at 12.15. After lunch there is time to rest, in the quiet room or on a short stroll. The afternoon activity starts at 14.00, tea is at 15.15 and the minibus leaves at 15.45. Most people are back at their own front door between 16.15 and 16.30.

Activities include the garden and orchard, cooking and baking, music and singing, the craft workshop, walks and the duo bike, and looking after the animals: two goats, eight hens, two rabbits and a cat. Monday is harvest day, Tuesday music day (singing along to volunteer Wim on the accordion), Wednesday baking day with a duo bike ride, Thursday workshop day and Friday farm stall day with Friday afternoon drinks. Anyone who would rather watch is just as welcome.

There is a hot lunch every day, cooked together in the farmhouse kitchen with vegetables from the garden. Lunch is included in the day. Vegetarian, halal, no pork, no fish or a small portion is always possible. Halal and vegetarian food is cooked separately. The coordinator discusses allergies in person.

De Boomgaard picks guests up at home anywhere in Vlietstad by minibus, on a north route (Havenkwartier, Kanaalzijde, Molenwijk) and a south route (De Velden, Oud-Vliet). A walking frame or wheelchair comes along in the minibus. People who come by car can park in the yard. By bus, take line 4 to the Molenwijk-West stop; from there it is a six-minute walk.

You can book a free trial day, including lunch and transport, or a one-hour introduction at the farm or at your home. You can do this online on the Get to know us page or by phone. Bookings start two working days from today. Coordinator Marloes Verbeek contacts you within two working days. There is no obligation.

Day care is usually paid for by the municipality through the Wmo (Social Support Act). Sometimes it is arranged through the Wlz (Long-term Care Act), after an assessment by the CIZ; the care office then arranges the care. You often pay a personal contribution. Paying privately is also possible. De Boomgaard does not decide whether someone is entitled to Wmo or Wlz support; the municipality and the CIZ do. A trial day is possible before funding is arranged. What a day costs depends on the funding; the coordinator discusses costs in person.

After each day, a support worker writes a short note in the diary: in the family app or on paper in the bag. Photos are only shared with permission. Every six months there is a review with the coordinator. Families can call on weekdays from 8.30 to 16.30.

There is a carers’ café at 19.30 on the first Thursday of every month. Every Friday from 13.30 to 14.30 there is a drop-in hour with the coordinator. When there is room, someone can come for an extra day, for example when their carer goes on holiday. Please ask at least two weeks in advance.

Case managers, GPs, practice nurses, district nurses and Wmo consultants can see free places per weekday on the For referrers page and refer with a short form that asks for no citizen service number, date of birth or medical details. The coordinator gets in touch within two working days.

The address is Boomgaardweg 14, Vlietstad, at the edge of town behind the Molenwijk district. De Boomgaard offers day care, not medical care. Support workers are used to memory problems but do not give medical advice. For medical questions, please contact your GP.