The aging rate in the rural areas of Jiangsu is 5 percentage points higher than that in urban areas, and there are still problems with weak infrastructure and inadequate service networks in rural elderly care services. Today, we will go to Ma'an Village, Hudai Town, Wuxi city to see how they help with the elderly care in the village.
Early in the morning, the call center of the Neighborhood Center in Ma'an Village, Hudai Town received a call for help from the villagers. Yang Shuzhen, 91 years old, felt a bit dizzy after waking up early. The call center staff immediately notified the doctors and volunteers who were attending the clinic. After making an inspection, it was found that the granny’s blood pressure was on the high side. The doctor adjusted the medication for her and advised her family members to take precautions.
“Our community divides the elderly into three categories and also utilizes various intelligent devices to provide 24-hour care for them. Once an emergency occurs, we can respond and assist the elderly as soon as possible”, Wang Yin, Director of Ma'an Village Neighborhood Center, Hudai Town, Wuxi City, said.
There are 1240 elderly people aged 60 and above in Ma'an Village. To ensure that the elderly in the village have access to elderly care services, the village administration has taken advantage of the public service facilities to create a neighborhood center that is accessible to the elderly people within five minutes of walk after leaving their homes.
The Neighborhood Center has a complete range of dining rooms, physical therapy rooms, and more. Relying on the Neighborhood Center, Ma'an Village collaborates with township level community health service centers to provide professional services, and also introduces high-quality medical resources from society.
“Our Neighborhood Center regularly conducts fundus screening and hearing screening for elderly people for early health diagnosis. Fundus screening can make an early prediction of heart disease or neurological disorders in the elderly”, Gong He, Staff member of Neighborhood Center in Ma'an Village, Hudai Town, said.
The Neighborhood Center regularly organizes activities such as local song performances, dumpling making competitions, and a variety of activities to ensure that the elderly are not empty in their hearts.
“In the past, we used to find places to sing and dance, but now with the Neighborhood Center, we are not afraid of wind or rain when singing and dancing. The community also invited teachers to teach us how to sing local songs, so that everyone's life is very fulfilling”, Xu Lanjuan, Villager of Ma'an Village, Hudai Town, Binhu District, Wuxi City, said.
“Many of us elderly people like to come here to play, sing, dance, and sometimes even make dumplings. We have a lot of fun together, and it's also great to enjoy elderly services in the village”, Tang Jumei, a villager of Ma'an Village, Hudai Town, Binhu District, Wuxi City, said.
Relying on the Neighborhood Center, Ma'an Village has made active exploration of the rural mutual assistance elderly care model by allowing young elderly people to serve the elderly. The participation of volunteers has promoted an atmosphere of mutual assistance in elderly care services. A series of heartwarming services have alleviated the "elderly care anxiety" of the rural elderly people.
“I am over 60 years old this year and I have very good health, so I want to provide some services for the elderly. In the future, as I get older, there will definitely be people who will serve me”, Ni Qinyan, a villager volunteer in Ma'an Village, Hudai Town, Binhu District, Wuxi City, said.
“We have focused on the difficulties such as seeking medical care and health care for rural elderly by building a smart elderly care and a neighborhood center integrating medical service and mutual assistance in rural areas, so that elderly care is not separated from their hometown or neighbors”, Wu Xiaoyang, Deputy Chief of Social Affairs Section, Hudai Town, Binhu District, Wuxi City, said.
