Willibrordusstichting Heiloo
The Willibrord Foundation in Heiloo was founded in the twenties of the 20th century by the Brothers of Our Lady of Lourdes, which has a similar institution, Huize Voorburg, administered in Vught. In 1927, the congregation acquired land for the construction of a facility in Heiloo. In the years between 1928 and 1940 the complex for psychiatric patients arose. The complex was completely self-sufficient and had a wide variety of buildings. From 1930 psychiatric patients were admitted and treated. Also psychiatric nurses were trained to obtain Dutch state diploma “nursing B”.
After 1963 the famous “stencils of Heiloo” were distributed in the Netherlands and the content of the core course ” psychiatric nursing” for the three grades was first described by nurses. In “A source of concern and good works” by C. Th. Bakker and the Goei L. (2002) history of mental health in North Holland North is described. The “Willibrord Foundation” in Heiloo has an important place in it. In the dissertation “Crazy Work” Dr. G.J.C. the Stegge (2012) the development of the profession ‘psychiatric nurse’ in the Netherlands in the period 1830 to 1980 is recorded. Here too, the important contribution of the Brothers of Our Lady of Lourdes at the psychiatric nursing and education incorporated into this profession.
In 1997, the organization became part of the mental health care (MHC) in the province of North Holland. The setting GGZ Noord-Holland-Noord established on the premises of the institution – in a wing of the main building – a museum about the history of psychiatry and psychiatric nursing. In the museum are displayed among other attributes and therapeutic medical devices and it displays a picture of life in this kind of institutions.
The accommodations on the premises no longer meet the requirements of a modern psychiatric nursing home. The mental health institution is therefore moved in 2010. During 2015, the Willibrord Foundation underwent a name change. The site is now called Property Willibrord. There is now the “Willibrord Business Center” located. The chapel is mainly a cultural center (Culture Dome Heiloo). On the site are clinics for forensic psychiatry, housing for long-term care, health center, a print shop and a garden center.
