Abstract : East China's Zhejiang Province will explore building more community-based nursing homes this year amid efforts to cope with the rapidly aging population.
Elderly
people enjoy leisure time at the park area of the elderly care
community Xingfucheng in Zhangwu Township of Anji County, east China’s
Zhejiang Province, Sept. 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)
HANGZHOU,
Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — East China’s Zhejiang Province will explore
building more community-based nursing homes this year amid efforts to
cope with the rapidly aging population.
The
move aims to construct nursing homes near the current homes of the
elderly, said Wang Jianhou, director of the Zhejiang Provincial Civil
Affairs Department, at the ongoing annual session of the Zhejiang
provincial people’s congress.
Most
elderly Chinese rely on home care. In Zhejiang, home care for the
elderly accounts for 98.5 percent, while institutional care is
responsible for the rest. There are 2,458 nursing homes in the province,
two-thirds of which are privately run.
In
China, most nursing homes are so far from the city centers and serve so
many people that most of the elderly are unwilling to go there. It is
also inconvenient for their children to visit.
As
one of the provinces in China with the most elderly population,
Zhejiang has 12 million people aged 60 and above. It accounts for 23
percent of the total population in the province, statistics showed.
Many of the elderly do not have children around them. They need physical care as well as psychological comfort.
Zhejiang
Province is actively responding to the national strategy for population
aging by promoting home, community and institution integration. They
are also building a system combining medical and health care.
“We
will encourage and foster the establishment of small-sized and
professional nursing homes in communities, and try to make sure every
senior citizen in the urban areas can find a nursing home within one
kilometer of their homes,” said Wang.
The
Xihu district of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, has begun a
pilot program. It is setting up a community-based nursing home providing
about 100 beds for the nearby elderly.
Official
surveys showed that such nursing homes are more popular among the
elderly and their children in communities with higher senior citizen
populations.
According
to this year’s provincial government work report, authorities in
Zhejiang aim to build 340 new community-based nursing homes in the towns
and sub-districts across the province this year. The report was .
The
number of people aged over 60 in Zhejiang will likely reach 15 million
by 2025, accounting for 28 percent of the total population. By 2035, the
proportion will increase to one-third.
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Source: Across China: China’s Zhejiang explores community-based elderly care
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