Health apartments in the Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda

The two healthcare apartments in the Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda, a pilot project of the Stadtwerke Jena Group, have been successfully transferred to regular operation: Since January 1, 2026, Jena University Hospital (UKJ) has been responsible for operating the low-barrier, comfortably furnished apartments in the immediate vicinity of the hospital. The measure in the Smart City project "Establishment and operation of healthcare apartments" has thus been consolidated and successfully completed.

An important milestone for the city of Jena, as Mayor and Head of Digitalization Benjamin Koppe emphasizes: "The healthcare apartments are a good example of how innovation from our Smart City project can have a concrete impact on people's everyday lives. They provide patients with comfortable and safe accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the hospital and at the same time relieve the burden on care. For us in Jena, it was important from the outset that a funded project should result in a permanently usable service in healthcare practice. The fact that Jena University Hospital is now taking over the operation shows how a sustainable solution can be created from municipal innovation together with strong partners, which makes medical sense and offers real added value for people."

Living instead of a hospital bed - relief and a better quality of life

The health apartments are aimed at patients of the UKJ who are treated as outpatients, day or day-case inpatients, but for whom a daily journey to and from the hospital is not practicable - as well as people who are waiting for follow-up care after an inpatient stay or are being cared for in transitional care, as well as relatives. The apartments offer short-term care between the hospital and the patient's own four walls, providing privacy and security of care at the same time.

"The health apartments were in high demand right from the start - the retreat outside the hospital is very much appreciated. For many patients, the transition between hospital, outpatient treatment and further care is a particularly sensitive phase. The health apartments create an important offer here: they combine medical proximity with a homely, protected environment and help to avoid gaps in care. The fact that we are now taking this model into regular operation is a logical step for us to further develop patient-oriented care," says Prof. Dr. Otto W. Witte, Medical Director of Jena University Hospital.

Circle of users extended to include day patients

The circle of users is being continuously expanded. Most recently, day-care patients were able to use the service alongside day-care inpatients. Day inpatient means: treatment in hospital without an overnight stay - usually lasting several hours a day.

Smart, low-barrier equipment - with safety and assistance

The apartments are designed to be barrier-free and combine a homely atmosphere with supportive technology - including smart home applications (including voice control), an emergency system, a height-adjustable kitchen and additional support and assistance services if required. If necessary, a care service can also be integrated.

From feasibility to continuity: Cooperation with municipal utilities and UKJ

The operation was preceded by a feasibility study. The healthcare apartments were developed and implemented as part of the "Smartes Quartier Jena-Lobeda" model project of the Stadtwerke Jena Group in cooperation with the Smart City Project Jena and in close collaboration with Jena University Hospital. The apartments have been in operation since August 2023. With the takeover by the UKJ from January 1, 2026, the solution is anchored in healthcare practice in the long term.

The Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda was a real-life laboratory for us, in which we worked with our partners to test how living, energy, digitalization and healthcare can be combined in a meaningful way. The healthcare apartments show the potential of this: they bring medical care closer to people and expand the possibilities of local healthcare services. For us as a municipal utility company, this was an important step towards a new form of municipal services of general interest - and an example of how innovation can make a concrete contribution to the local quality of life," says Tobias Wolfrum, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Jena.

The project meets a growing need: hospitals are obliged to organize effective discharge management in order to ensure the transition to follow-up care and avoid gaps in care. This is precisely where the healthcare apartments come in as a practical bridge.

A unique model in Germany to date

With the permanent transfer to regular operation, the project also occupies a special position nationwide. The healthcare apartments expand the traditional care structures with a flexible interim solution that combines medical security with more independence and privacy. With its combination of short-term patient-oriented accommodation, digitally supported equipment and embedding in a smart city quarter, the Jena model is considered an exemplary approach for the further development of healthcare in Germany.

Background information

About the Jena-Lobeda smart district

The Smart Quarter Jena-Lobeda is a model project of the Stadtwerke Jena Group and stands for modern, everyday living in the digital age. In a jenawohnen prefabricated building of the WBS70 type, a total of 230 apartments will be built by the end of 2024 following refurbishment - around half of them rent-controlled. The apartments are equipped with smart home technology and supplemented by health services and neighborhood networking opportunities.

About the smart city strategy of the city of Jena

The city of Jena's Smart City Strategy is part of the federal "Smart Cities Model Projects" program and is being funded with a total of 17.5 million euros. The aim is to use the opportunities of digitalization for sustainable, networked and citizen-oriented city life. Under the motto "Jena digitizes, learns and shares", the city is developing concrete solutions for everyday life together with municipal partners and citizens.

Gruppenbild aller an den Gesundheitsapartments Beteiligten: Klinikdirektor Prof. Dr. Utz Settmacher vom Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ), Felix Donndorf, leitend