Maria Middelares, a non-profit organisation that comprises two general hospitals, two medical centres and a logistics center, has evolved from a centuries-long tradition to a center of innovation, prioritizing organizational excellence and enriched patient experience. With a clear and straightforward objective, Maria Middelares is committed to keeping people healthy through proactive preventive care and providing curative healing solutions when illness occurs. The hospital aims to play a central role in the healthcare continuum, emphasising the importance of patient-centric care in every aspect of its operations.
Every day, the dedicated staff at Maria Middelares work diligently to uphold the hospital’s mission of delivering ‘Compassionate Healthcare.’ Together, they nurture a value-driven organization where every patient feels heard and cared for. The hospital’s six strategic building blocks serve as guiding principles, weaving this mission into every aspect of the organization and its daily operations.
Health Value Space Gent: A Shift towards Phygital Healthcare
Central to its strategic goals is the ongoing evolution towards a ‘phygital’ hospital, a seamless blend of the physical and digital healthcare. This embodies the hospital’s commitment to remain a trusted partner for its patients throughout their healthcare journey, leveraging technology to improve patient experience and outcomes.
Health Value Space Gent (HVS) is steering Maria Middelares into the phygital future, where an increasing number of care processes are conducted beyond the hospital walls. This is achieved through intelligent use of advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence, allowing for 24/7 patient guidance and monitoring. Significant to the transformation are the hospital’s in-house-developed electronic medical record for healthcare professionals and the ‘MyHospital’ patient application. These tools not only facilitate close follow-up and communication with the patient but also provide the agility to adapt to new insights and trends in healthcare delivery, enhanced by close patient monitoring. In fact, thanks to its data lakehouse, robust data governance protocols, and the dedicated efforts of its data scientists, Maria Middelares effectively transforms the data it generates into actionable insights. This proactive approach ensures that the hospital is not merely embracing the digital future of healthcare but shaping it.
HVS is built on three pillars, stimulating innovative ideas and pioneering research to improve the quality of care:
- By focusing on value-based healthcare, HVS aims to maximise value for patients. Emphasizing multidisciplinary consultation with close involvement of the patient and family, its daily commitment is to improve the quality of care and enhance the patient experience, with a particular focus on the financial accessibility of care.
- Looking to the future, Maria Middelares is investing in new high-tech services. Collaboration is key. Engineers, data scientists, and healthcare providers are ready to explore the possibilities of digitalization, mobile technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence in the hospital environment, in partnership with external organizations.
- The Clinical Research Center (CRC) plays an active role in scientific research and clinical trials. These studies are crucial for the development and optimization of medical treatments and techniques. This ensures that patients have access to innovative drugs, medical devices, and surgical techniques as early as possible.
Recognition as a Smart Hospital
In its 2025 rankings, the U.S. news magazine Newsweek highlighted hospitals that are making significant strides in the implementation of new medical technologies through their ‘World’s Best Smart Hospitals’ list. This prestigious list features 350 hospitals from 28 countries around the globe, recognized for leading the charge in the use of AI, digital imaging, and robotics, among other innovations. Among this distinguished group, Maria Middelares takes pride in being one of only four Belgian hospitals recognized for their outstanding contributions to this innovative field.
