Interview with Hester Rippen-Wagner, Child & Hospital director and board member 

During our interview with Hester Rippen-Wagner, it's clear how passionate she is about the mission of Kind & Ziekenhuis (Child and Hospital Foundation). Hester has been a director at Kind & Ziekenhuis for 12 years and is personally involved in everything the foundation stands for. In this interview, Hester shares her reasons for being so invested in the cause. She also discusses her career, including her work before she switched to non-profit. In the 90s, she oversaw the rollout of a network with 1000 laptops, a massive project considering that IT was still in its infancy at the time. Read on to learn about the importance of sensitive healthcare for children, the prevention of needle phobia in adults, and pioneering IT in the 90s.

Hester, after 12 years as a director and board member at Kind & Ziekenhuis, what drew
you to their mission?
“Kind & Ziekenhuis is dedicated to improving healthcare for children and their families. We believe that it's crucial to provide the best possible care to minimize anxiety and stress for the patients and their families. This is important because negative healthcare experiences during childhood can have a significant impact on a child's life, even well into adulthood. For instance, many adults have a fear of needles or the dentist, which often stems from their childhood experiences. There is increasing scientific evidence that shows that providing a positive healthcare experience during childhood can lead to better health outcomes in the long run.”

“During my childhood and teenage years, I frequently visited the hospital, but the experiences were not always positive. As a result, I am especially passionate about my work for Kind & Ziekenhuis”

“When I became director of Kind & Ziekenhuis, I discovered that the subject affects me personally, too: because of my condition, I also have a lot of experience with healthcare. The care I received during my childhood at times fell short. For example, as a teenager, I was stitched up without local anesthesia. And as a 16-year-old, I was admitted to the adult department of a hospital 200 km from home for a very risky and painful operation, while the care at this department was not equipped for a child of that age. I have many more examples and, unfortunately, many people with me. Those experiences make me extra passionate about my work for Kind & Ziekenhuis.”

“The thing is: sometimes, children require treatments that are not always pleasant. However, it is crucial to ensure that the care they receive is of the highest quality and that the child's voice is heard. Kind & Ziekenhuis is dedicated to safeguarding the rights of children who require medical care.”

You sound very passionate! Have you always worked in the non-profit sector?
“I have volunteered for various organizations in the past, but for the last 14 years, I have been working in the non-profit sector, with the last 12 being at Kind & Ziekenhuis. Prior to that, I had worked in commercial organizations. Although my previous work was vastly different, there were some similarities with what VX does now.”

“For instance, back in the 1990s, I worked for Unified Fieldwork Organization, which was a part of Intomart-GFK. This organization conducted the National Housing Needs Survey for the ministry. To collect the required data, my colleagues visited people's homes to interview them. Initially, we used paper-based surveys, but we were the first in our industry to switch to laptops. It was my responsibility to lead the collaboration consortium and oversee the transition to digital working, which involved approximately 1000 users.”

That sounds like a massive IT project!
“It certainly was, especially for that time. We had to pioneer and devise solutions to our problems and challenges. Our main goal was to ensure that the 1,000 users could work independently with the software. Since users would call me for help with their laptop problems, I acted as a helpdesk, so it had to be very user-friendly. We worked with a software supplier from England and programmers from Russia who would occasionally come over. If there were any problems with the server, I would be in the server room myself to make sure it was resolved. It was an exciting, educational time during which I worked many evenings, weekends, and sometimes even nights.”

Based on your IT experience, how do you view VX's service?
“In my experience, I have nothing but respect for the level of service provided by VX. Without exception, the staff is consistently friendly and approachable. If I ever need assistance, I can easily reach out to the service desk over the phone or utilize their online service portal. VX is always proactive in anticipating our needs at Kind & Ziekenhuis, and in the rare event of a problem, it is resolved quickly and efficiently. Their level of service is exactly what we need.”