Caroline Gillen and Nynke Menger are the first point of contact for international patients and their parents/guardians, as well as for referrers abroad and committed colleagues in the Máxima Center. They coordinate the entire process: from registration, stay and treatment to return home.
Arranging
Caroline says: ‘We want to provide a professional service, take the burden off, but also give the families a warm welcome. It is often stressful for the child and the parents to travel to Utrecht. The child has a serious illness and they are away from home for a long time in a foreign country. This is drastic. Applications come from everywhere, from Belgium to Kazakhstan, from India to Iran, from England to Australia and from Latvia to Germany. Nynke adds: ‘With every foreign patient, we make a medical, financial and logistical agreement. This involves a lot of communication with parents and doctors. We make sure that enough medical and financial information is exchanged, we arrange transportation, accommodation, (medical) interpreters. Even during the families' stay in the Netherlands, we are often there to answer all kinds of questions.’
The duo agrees wholeheartedly: 'Internationalization is an important spearhead in the Máxima Center's long-term strategy. We want to contribute to a professional, efficient and friendly visiting card of our great center, with a clear added value.'
Questions, suggestions? Send an email to internationaloffice@prinsesmaximacentrum.nl