Song County's Xiguan Orthopedic Hospital's integrated medical-elderly care service center is redefining senior living by eliminating the need for constant travel between home and hospital. Residents now enjoy comprehensive rehabilitation therapy, routine medical consultations, and daily life support all under one roof, with professional medical staff available around the clock. This initiative serves as a tangible example of the county's broader commitment to advancing inclusive elderly care policies and deepening the integration of healthcare with eldercare services.
Yuna Han, Director of the Medical-Elderly Care Service Center at Song County Orthopedic Hospital, explained that the facility leverages the hospital's established medical resources to create a unified "medical plus elderly care" platform. The center is equipped with senior-friendly amenities and integrates the full spectrum of services, from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation and nursing care. Routine services include health monitoring, chronic disease follow-ups, medication guidance, and rehabilitation exercises, enabling rapid response to sudden health emergencies. Additionally, the center provides short-term residential care and post-operative support, offering much-needed respite for family caregivers and catering to the diverse and personalized wellness needs of the elderly.
This professionally managed, closed-loop medical and elderly care service effectively addresses the common challenges seniors face in accessing both healthcare and daily living support. Combined with the benefits of the government's elderly care consumption vouchers, it has significantly enhanced the sense of well-being among the older population. As a designated county-level service point, the Xiguan Orthopedic Hospital center has streamlined the voucher redemption process, ensuring that policy benefits are directly and substantially realized by the elderly.
A family member of a resident praised the service, noting, "My mother has multiple chronic conditions, and we previously had to shuttle back and forth for her medical appointments. Now that she lives in the center, the staff is exceptionally attentive, providing regular check-ups and daily oversight, which brings us great peace of mind. We can also apply for the elderly care vouchers, which has genuinely lightened our financial load."
Yudan Wen, a nurse at the Xiguan Orthopedic Hospital Medical-Elderly Care Center, highlighted that many residents are chronically ill or have reduced mobility, making health management a top priority. "We monitor their vital signs daily, ensure they take medications on time, and conduct rehabilitation training. Since many elderly residents have trouble using smartphones, we provide one-on-one assistance with the voucher application and redemption process, ensuring they receive dedicated care so they can feel at ease and their families can be reassured."
The 13th Municipal Party Congress has set a clear goal to "take the lead in creating a high-quality life," emphasizing the need to improve services for children and the elderly so that development gains benefit everyone. In line with this, the Song County Civil Affairs Bureau is actively implementing elderly care policies based on the real needs of the county's senior citizens. The bureau is building bridges between medical institutions and elderly care facilities, channeling high-quality medical resources into the eldercare sector to tackle the twin challenges of difficult elderly care and complicated medical access.
Yi Wang, Head of the Elderly Care Services Section at the Song County Civil Affairs Bureau, detailed the efforts to support families and stimulate the service market. "To ease the burden on families caring for seniors with moderate to severe disabilities and to activate the elderly care service market, our county has implemented a multi-pronged approach to distribute consumption vouchers. We are offering up to 800 yuan per person per month in direct benefits to eligible seniors," Wang stated. The initiative targets services such as meal assistance, bathing aid, rehabilitation nursing, adult day care, equipment rental, and residential care, supported by strict procedures for application, verification, and settlement. To date, 3,589 individuals have utilized vouchers, with a total redemption value of 1.489 million yuan, spurring an additional 2.6888 million yuan in consumer spending.
Song County is now focused on enriching the supply of integrated medical and elderly care services and building a multi-tiered system for senior support. The strategy involves supporting hospitals in adding elder care wards for on-site rehabilitation, guiding nursing homes to enhance their medical capabilities for on-site medical services, and expanding home-based services such as doctor visits, wound care, and rehabilitation guidance. By broadening the reach of affordable medical-elderly care services and shoring up the county's eldercare infrastructure, the county aims to secure a happy and healthy old age for its residents through practical measures and dedicated service, extending the dividends of inclusive elderly care to more of its rural population.