Henk thanks!
17 October 2022
During the lustrum symposium of EENnacoma in October, Henk Eilander announced his 'postponed retirement' and was put in the spotlight: Impression 1st lustrum meeting EENnacoma. Recently, Henk explained the phasing out of his activities via LinkedIn before closing that account. EENnacoma is very grateful to Henk for what he has meant to the development of the network and research after his official retirement. He remains involved in Berno Overbeek's research into people in a minimally conscious state.
The many reactions after his post on LinkedIn showed how much Henk has meant to everyone involved in serious brain injury. For people with a long-term disorder of consciousness (LBS), he was the founder of Early Intensive Neurorehabilitation (VIN) in the late 80s from the specialized rehabilitation center Het Leijpark in Tilburg, formerly Charlotteoord. Through his PhD research into the outcomes, the treatment was included in health insurance, initially up to the age of 25. When he joined the research group No One between Wall and Ship in Nijmegen in 2012 after his retirement, he continued to work for more knowledge and better care for this target group and their loved ones through research, scientific and social publications, blogs, interviews, lectures, consultations and training. He visited many institutions to realize the expertise network EENnacoma in 2016 and was the driving force in the design of the first website. The fact that from 2019 onwards the VIN became accessible to people of all ages would not have been possible without the foundation he laid for it. He wrote me about the new care program Long-Term Intensive Neurorehabilitation (LIN) in specialized nursing homes, which is in line with the VIN, and provided the substantiation. Researchers and professionals at EENnacoma thus benefited from his impressive knowledge, expertise and dedication, always putting the patient and their loved ones at the center. For them, partly thanks to him, care has improved considerably since our publication in Medisch Contact about 'Better care after coma' Better care after coma | medical contact and no longer a maze for loved ones.
Henk often referred to his role in all these developments as that of 'pusher'. EENnacoma is very grateful to Henk for those years of support. It has made pulling carts over the bumpy roads easier for many. Where lasting traces have been left behind, from which the care for people with serious brain injury and their loved ones will benefit for a long time to come.
By Jan Lavrijsen