TEAM VERPLEEGKUNDIGEN | Wheel of care

JULIE

I have been following Wheel of Care from the very beginning through social media, until I got the chance to participate in this amazing adventure myself in 2018!

Fascinated by sustainability, the environment, and health, I combined my master's in cheese-making with a bachelor's in nursing. A particularly memorable experience was the year I worked in a psychiatric hospital in southern India. This journey taught me how valuable autonomy, flexibility, and adaptability are in the field of health.

Nowadays, I work as a wound care nurse at the Iris Zuid hospital, and in addition, I am the team coordinator for the nurses at Wheel of Care. I strongly believe in the power of home care: tailored care, with attention to the person in their environment. It provides the space to build a genuine, honest relationship with the patient, and that is, for me, the essence of good care.

If I'm not on my bike, I'm a beekeeper, I enjoy sporting challenges, I spend time with my family, or I explore new places in the world.

SVEN

I am Sven and I enjoy variety in my work life. Since 2021, I have been combining my job in a residential care centre and a psychiatric nursing home with home care at Wheel of Care. This combination keeps me sharp and allows me to provide care in very different contexts, each time tailored to the person behind the care request.

Working in a small and close-knit team, where we support each other as equals and where there is room for discussion and trust, I see as a great advantage. What makes it perfect for me is that I cycle through Brussels in the morning light, providing the best possible care to people from diverse backgrounds with full attention and calm. For me, that is the ideal formula: close, human, and in motion.

Furthermore, I am a great supporter of the Brussels dialect and the Brussels folk language, that typical blend of languages, humour, and directness that makes the city so unique. It says a lot about Brussels: rough and warm at the same time, straightforward but with a big heart. I feel that anew every day in my work.

I also like to seek balance and variety in my personal life. Being active and relaxing, listening to music and going to the theatre, cycling, having a pint with friends or enjoying a nice meal out, discovering new places in Europe by train, but equally enjoying a lazy day at home on the sofa: it’s all part of it.

WIERT

Hello! I am Wiert. I grew up in the fertile Flemish chicory soil, but after my nursing studies in Leuven, I soon moved to Brussels: a city that has not let me go since.

In Brussels, I started my career as a nurse in a paediatric ward. Step by step, I got to know the city better, along with its residents and the many cultures that make it so unique. That enormous diversity is, for me, Brussels' greatest asset and the reason why I fell in love with ma Bruxelles ma belle and its people.

In addition to my work in healthcare, I am also active as a nurse at festivals, including Horst. Working in that context requires flexibility, quick thinking, and providing care in often intense and dynamic situations, skills that I also bring to my daily care provision.

Through various connections, I came into contact with Wheel of Care, a project whose values and principles perfectly align with the way I want to approach care. Slow care is something I wish for every patient and care provider, and the fact that we do this on bicycles makes it even more beautiful.

Do you see me cycling through the city? Feel free to wave, I always wave back!

FLEUR

In 2017, I moved from the Netherlands to Brussels. With a diploma in psychiatric nursing and tropical nursing in hand and my Dutch bicycle by my side, I came to discover Belgium. What began as a new chapter quickly grew into a place where I truly feel at home, something I am particularly proud of as a Dutch person.

Over the years, I gained experience in various care contexts: hospitals, home care, residential care centres, psychiatry, and the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic. This broad background allows me to support people with an open mind and a great deal of nuance, tailored to their unique situation.

Wheel of Care feels to me like the crème de la crème. Providing slow, personal care at the moment it is most needed, with genuine attention and closeness, is for me the essence of good care. That people allow us into their home environment I experience time and again as a great privilege.

In addition to my work at Wheel of Care, I combine this care provision with my role within the Expertise Centre for Dementia. This combination keeps me sharp, engaged, and motivated.

In my free time, I enjoy moments with family and friends, I like to discover new travel destinations, and I can deeply appreciate art and good food: the little things that make life rich.

EMMA

After ten years of experience as a nurse in the hospital, often under high pressure in the emergency department and intensive care, I developed a desire for more human contact and greater meaning in my work. I missed the time, the closeness, and the space to truly be present with people.

The search brought me to Wheel of Care. Here I rediscovered why I once chose the profession of nurse. At Wheel of Care, I have the space to provide care with attention and warmth, and to build a meaningful relationship with my patients, supported by a dedicated and caring team. It feels like a place where care can once again be human.

With my start at Wheel of Care, I am taking on two wonderful challenges. On one hand, I am actively working on learning and applying Dutch, a language with which I have been less familiar until now. On the other hand, I embrace the sporty aspect of the job, cycling through the city, although that doesn't worry me much: I love to challenge myself physically.

I am extremely motivated and grateful to be part of an organisation that places people and the planet at its core. These are values that resonate deeply with me and that I also wish to pass on to my son.

See you soon, and I look forward to exploring Brussels further by bike and meeting all of you!

ALEXANDER

Hello,

I grew up in Dutch Limburg, where I also completed my training as a nurse. Recently, I have been able to officially call myself a nurse, and I am incredibly excited to start working at Wheel of Care. Since obtaining my diploma, I have moved to Brussels. I came here for love and have also completely fallen in love with this vibrant and diverse city.

In a world where everything often passes us by quickly, I find it important to consciously slow down and truly reflect on the needs of my patients. That is precisely why Wheel of Care immediately felt like an organisation that suits me with its vision of Slow Care. The fact that we travel through the city by bike is just an added bonus. I like to be mindful of my ecological impact, and at the same time, it is a wonderful way to get to know Brussels better.

Outside of my work, I also like to seek peace and connection in small, everyday things. I enjoy being surrounded by the people I love. I also love cooking, reading, walking with my dog, going to the cinema, taking care of my plants, and travelling.