Ispahan

What Ispahan does

Ispahan VZW is a Belgian non-profit association (vereniging zonder winstoogmerk) founded in 1998 that delivers palliative home care services to terminally ill patients and their families across the arrondissement Turnhout in the Kempen region. The organization operates a multidisciplinary equipe consisting of three specialized palliative physicians, ten palliative nurses, one psychologist, one coordinator, one administrative staff member, and approximately forty trained volunteers, supporting more than 900 palliative patients and their close relatives annually. Core services include pain and symptom control, emotional and psychological support, spiritual and existential guidance, practical home care coordination, medical equipment provision (including syringe drivers), and assistance with palliative sedation and euthanasia procedures, alongside bereavement care for surviving family members and the (B)engelbox pediatric conversation kit.

The business model is structurally non-commercial. Service revenue flows from direct billing to Belgian mutualiteiten (health insurance funds) for patients covered by a zorgkas, with services provided at no cost to those patients. Partial operating funding comes from Flemish Government subsidies, which the organization explicitly states are insufficient to cover current service and volunteer operations. The residual funding gap is filled by donations, monthly contributions starting at €5, gifts, and legacies, with contributions of €40 or more qualifying for tax deductibility. Two disclosed bank accounts at Belfius and BNP Paribas Fortis handle incoming donations. Go-to-market is purely referral-driven: general practitioners (huisartsen) initiate contact via the central number 014 42 66 02, with additional referrals from home nurses, informal caregivers, hospitals, and patients themselves. The organization functions as secondary care (tweedelijnszorg) layered on top of the primary care physician relationship.

The operational backbone consists of four coordination partnerships with regional Eerstelijnszones (ELZ Kempenland, Middenkempen, Baldemore, Zuiderkempen), a strategic partnership with PNAT (Palliatief Netwerk Arrondissement Turnhout), and integration with hospital networks across the Kempen region. Ispahan is recognized by the Flemish Government as a Multidisciplinary Guidance Team (MBE). Headquarters are located at Patersstraat 85 bus 1, 2300 Turnhout, Belgium. Governance rests with a General Assembly meeting twice annually, a Daily Management Board chaired by Dr. Stijn Boenders, and a broader Board of Directors with representation from physicians, nurses, pharmacists, volunteers, founders, the hospital network, and service clubs. There is no private equity, venture capital, or parent company ownership.

Name

Ispahan

Legal name

Ispahan VZW

Website

https://www.ispahan.be

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ispahan VZW is a Belgian non-profit founded in 1998 that provides multidisciplinary palliative home care to over 900 terminally ill patients and their families annually in the Turnhout district, funded by mutualiteit billing, government subsidies, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Palliative Home Healthcare Services

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (62161)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro primary industry

Palliative Care (Home-Based) Providers (HLAFAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

In-Home Hospice Nursing Visits (RN/LPN) (HSABAFAL), Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Family Aftercare) (HSABAFAI), End-of-Life Emotional & Spiritual Support (Chaplaincy/Counseling) In-Home (HSABAFAH)

Keywords

• Palliative home care
• End-of-life care
• Hospice nursing services
• Bereavement support
• Grief counseling children

Headquarters

HQ city

Turnhout

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government subsidies and public funding: Ispahan receives partial funding from the government and subsidies, though these are stated to be insufficient to finance current services and volunteer operations.
2. Donations, gifts, and legacies: Accepts financial donations, monthly contributions (starting from €5/month), and legacies. Donations of €40 or more are tax-deductible. The organization has bank accounts at Belfius (BE41 7895 6929 2210) and BNP Paribas Fortis (BE19 2300 2939 9912).
3. Direct billing to mutualities: The organization bills mutualities directly for services provided to patients. If a patient is not a member of a mutualiteit, an invoice is issued. Medical material usage may require a separate fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ispahan provides multidisciplinary palliative home care services for terminally ill patients in the arrondissement Turnhout, supporting them to spend their final phase of life with dignity in their familiar home environment. Services include pain and symptom control, emotional and psychological support, spiritual and existential care, bereavement support for families, the (B)engelbox conversation kit for children, and volunteer companionship. The organization works as a secondary-line care provider in close collaboration with the patient's family doctor (huisarts) and other healthcare providers.

Product overview

Ispahan is a palliative home care organization (vzw) operating in the arrondissement Turnhout, Belgium. The organization provides comprehensive palliative home care services through a multidisciplinary team of specialized nurses, physicians, a psychologist, and trained volunteers. Core offerings include direct palliative care support for patients choosing to die at home, the (B)engelbox tool for supporting children through loss, grief care services, and participation in PNAT training programs. The service is free for patients affiliated with a health insurance fund, with costs covered through government subsidies and donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Palliatieve Thuiszorg (Palliative Home Care) Multidisciplinary palliative home care for terminally ill patients in the arrondissement Turnhout, supporting them to die with dignity at home. Includes pain and symptom control, emotional and psychological support, spiritual care, and coordination of home care resources.
• (B)engelbox A conversation kit developed by Ispahan to help parents discuss illness, loss, and death with children and young people. The box contains books, activity books, craft materials, and toys to help children process emotions through play and creativity.
• Rouwzorg (Bereavement Care) Grief support services for family members and loved ones of patients who have been accompanied by Ispahan, including remembrance gatherings and referrals for additional support.
• Vrijwilligersbegeleiding (Volunteer Support) Trained volunteers provide companionship and non-medical support to palliative patients at home, including listening support, presence during absences of family members, walks, and emotional support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 900+ palliative patients supported annually in the Turnhout district

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• PNAT (Palliatief Netwerk Arrondissement Turnhout)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIspahan is a partner within PNAT, an recognized organization that facilitates cooperation between hospitals, residential care centers, and home care providers. PNAT is also responsible for knowledge sharing and information dissemination to healthcare professionals and the general public. The partnership involves joint training sessions and workshops on palliative care topics.
• ELZ Kempenland VZW (Eerstelijnszone Kempenland)minorOthersFirst-line zone covering municipalities in the Ispahan service area including Turnhout, Beerse, Oud-Turnhout, Vosselaar, Hoogstraten, Rijkevorsel, Merksplas, Ravels, Arendonk, and Baarle-Hertog.
• ELZ Middenkempen VZW (Eerstelijnszone Middenkempen)minorOthersFirst-line zone covering municipalities in the Ispahan service area including Grobbendonk, Herentals, Herenthout, Kasterlee, Lille, Olen, and Vorselaar.
• ELZ Baldemore vzw (Eerstelijnszone Baldemore)minorOthersFirst-line zone covering municipalities in the Ispahan service area including Balen, Dessel, Mol, and Retie.
• ELZ Zuiderkempen VZW (Eerstelijnszone Zuiderkempen)minorOthersFirst-line zone covering municipalities in the Ispahan service area including Geel, Herselt, Hulshout, Laakdal, Meerhout, and Westerlo.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Palliatief Netwerk Mechelen vzw: Regional palliative care network in the Mechelen district of Belgium coordinating hospital, residential, and home-based palliative services—comparable in function to Ispahan's PNAT partnership but covering a different Flemish geography.
• Palliatieve Hulpverlening Antwerpen (PHA): Regional palliative home care provider serving the Antwerp area with a comparable multidisciplinary equipe model (doctors, nurses, volunteers) supporting terminally ill patients at home—structurally similar to Ispahan but operating in a different Belgian province.

Direct peers

• Omega vzw: Belgian non-profit palliative home care organization operating in the Limburg region, providing a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and volunteers supporting terminally ill patients at home—directly comparable service model and target population to Ispahan.
• HAVIK: A Flemish palliative home care MBE equipe that co-authored the palliative patient protocol with Ispahan and HVRT, operating a similar multidisciplinary physician-nurse home care model in another Belgian district and serving as a direct operational peer.
• HVRT: Flemish palliative home care equipe co-author of the shared palliative patient protocol with Ispahan and HAVIK, delivering an analogous multidisciplinary home-based palliative service model in another Belgian arrondissement.

Broad incumbents

• VITAS Healthcare: The largest hospice and palliative care provider in the United States, operating a multidisciplinary home-based model serving terminally ill patients. While at much greater scale and commercial, VITAS represents the broad incumbent version of the palliative home care model Ispahan operates.
• St. Christopher's Hospice: UK-based hospice founded by Dame Cicely Saunders—the very figure under whose influence Ispahan's founder Vifke Daamen trained at St. Michael's Hospice in Hastings. Operates a comparable multidisciplinary palliative care mission and is the historical anchor of the modern hospice movement that Ispahan's model descends from.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/vzwIspahan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ispahan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ispahan