The National MS Centre has been located in Melsbroek, near Zaventem airport, since the 1950s. The buildings there were no longer sufficient, but the construction of a new hospital had been stalled by a working group for more than 10 years. So the MS Centre had to look for a new location. It was found in Mechelen.
“We looked at different alternatives in the Melsbrook area,” says Managing Director Eric Vanderheyden. “Because of course, on the one hand, we have a loyal patient population here. On the other hand, our staff mainly come from the neighbourhood. So, in order not to make this transition too difficult, we looked at the immediate environment, and then quickly arrived at the hospital in Mechelen.”
The MS Center wants to build a new hospital next to AZ Sint-Maarten, with an investment of around 60 million euros. It will cooperate with the non-profit organization Emmaüs, which is responsible for AZ Sint-Maarten.
“I can’t say much about that yet because discussions are still ongoing,” says Vanderheyden. “But I can give an example. The goal is to build a new hospital that will be a bit like a corridor to Sint Maarten. That way, patients can easily go to Sint Maarten for specialized examinations that require equipment that we won’t be installing.”
