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Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province is actively exploring an elderly care service model based on various service forms such as “integration of medical care and elderly care”, “community and home care”, and “institutional elderly care”, so that the elderly can enjoy care, learn, and be content. Rely on and be happy in old age. The picture shows social workers and the elderly doing crafts together at the Happy Neighborhood Center in Kanggan Street, Deqing County. |
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The Luyang District Elderly Care Service Guidance Center in Hefei City, Anhui Province, and the medical consortium of the Outpatient Department of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Guoyitang) were unveiled. The medical consortium will open a Chinese medicine outpatient clinic to help the elderly enjoy a healthy life in their later years. The picture shows experts (left) from the Outpatient Department of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Guoyitang) providing free medical treatment to the elderly in Luyang District. |
“It's not that big cities cannot afford to live in them, but small cities are more cost-effective.” In the past two years, more and more elderly people are living across cities. These elderly people have left their original places of residence and moved to cities and counties with good surrounding environments and low living costs. Some people have moved across cities to live in nursing homes to start a new life in their old age.
The gap between urban and rural areas has further narrowed, regional integration has accelerated, and intercity transportation has become faster, making cross-city elderly care a new trend in elderly care.
Elderly people are willing and elderly care institutions are highly motivated
At the foot of Panshan Mountain in Tianjin, there is a residential area. The community's occupancy rate is nearly 80%, with most residents from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, mostly from Beijing. Uncle Liu, a 64-year-old Beijing citizen, said: “I bought a house here just for retirement. I took a fancy to the good environment and low prices.” Uncle Liu told reporters that there are convenience stores in the community and there are markets in the county every week, which can satisfy his needs. Basic living needs.
Aunt Chen, 55, lives with her children in Shenzhen, Guangdong, and is planning to retire in Huizhou. “My hometown is in the north, and the climate is not as warm and comfortable as the south. But if you retire in Shenzhen, the cost is a bit high. Huizhou is less than 2 hours' drive from Shenzhen, and the housing prices are also low, so I decided to buy a house here to retire.”
Are you used to settling down in a different place? Do you feel lonely?
“Several old colleagues and friends have also bought houses in this community or surrounding communities. We visit from time to time and have dinner together so we don’t feel lonely.” Uncle Liu said, “My children come here every half month. It only takes more than an hour from Beijing, which is very convenient.
Why choose cross-city elderly care?
“I live in a building in Beijing, and I have always wanted to have a small courtyard where I can grow vegetables and raise flowers.” Uncle Liu's small courtyard in Tianjin is more than 100 square meters, half of which is used to grow flowers and half to grow vegetables. There is the romance of flower viewing and the pastoral interest. “My family has a 10-year-old border collie. In Beijing, it can only be walked in the community every night. But in Tianjin, it can have fun in its own yard, and it has lived a happy old life.”
Uncle He, a 67-year-old Beijinger, also chose to retire in Jizhou District, Tianjin. In his opinion, there are not only the Panshan Scenic Area where you can climb telescopes, but also Dule Temple, Qianxiang Temple Statues, Huangyaguan Great Wall and other scenic spots, and there are many leisure and entertainment options. “Many of our neighbors are from Beijing. After retirement, they sold or rented out their houses in Beijing and lived here. We sometimes make appointments to go hiking and play cards together.”
Others choose to live in a nursing home across town.
The Wuqing District Elderly Care Center in Tianjin is one of the first pilot units in Tianjin for the coordinated development of elderly care in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. There are currently 72 Beijing elderly residents living there. Some of these elderly people moved here from nursing homes in Changping District, Beijing, because of the good quality and low price of the “houses” here; some moved in as a couple, because of the large apartments with three bedrooms and one living room and the considerate services. Farther away from Beijing, the Yanda Golden Age Health Care Center in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province costs only more than 4,000 yuan a month to stay. It is equipped with nurses, Western medicine, Chinese medicine and other professionals to provide health examinations and chronic disease management for the elderly. There are also a variety of Club activities meet spiritual and cultural needs.
The elderly have high willingness, and the enthusiasm of elderly care service institutions to take over the project is also high. Data from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics shows that as of the end of 2023, Hebei Province’s elderly care institutions have housed nearly 5,000 elderly people with Beijing-Tianjin household registration, nearly 40,000 elderly people with Beijing-Tianjin household registration come to communities in Hebei for retirement, and 590,000 elderly people with Beijing-Tianjin household registration come to Hebei to live in Hebei for retirement. person times.
Explore regional integrated elderly care
The elderly choose “cross-city retirement care”, on the one hand because of its high cost performance, and on the other hand because the urban-rural development gap has further narrowed and regional integrated development has made “cross-city” more convenient.
During the interview, many elderly people told reporters that they would first consider the environment and cost when taking care of their elderly across cities.
Aunt Chen, a Shenzhen citizen who chose to retire in Huizhou, Guangdong, said: “Life in old age is for enjoyment, and the environment must be good first.” The environment she refers to refers to the natural environment on the one hand, such as a large community and good greening; The other aspect is the living environment, such as hospitals, supermarkets, banks and other supporting facilities.
In terms of cost, the cost of elderly care in big cities is high. Whether it is home care or living in a nursing home, it is a big expense for families. Elderly people choose to live in nearby small cities, which can not only reduce financial pressure, but also facilitate the care of their children who work in big cities nearby.
Uncle Liu said: “It has been six or seven years since we bought a house. We have seen that the convenience facilities around the community are becoming more and more abundant, and the development of Jizhou District is getting better and better. For retired people, the life here is as big as Cities are no different.
Integrated regional development makes cross-city travel more convenient. Taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as an example, a 1-hour traffic circle in the core area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and a 1.5-hour traffic circle between neighboring cities have basically been formed. As of the end of 2023, the total mileage of high-speed rail in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will reach 2,576 kilometers, achieving full coverage of all prefecture-level cities in the region. So far, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei “customized express bus” has opened 6 main lines and 36 branch lines, with a total passenger volume exceeding 1 million. “I now live in the Pangu Aicheng community in Jizhou District in the spring, summer and autumn, which is adjacent to Pinggu in Beijing. The Jingping Expressway is at the entrance of the community. When the Pinggu subway line opens in 2025, the transportation will be even more convenient.” Uncle He said.
In terms of medical care, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region promotes the construction of a “one card” for social security. Third-level and second-level designated medical institutions in the region are included in the scope of mutual recognition. Medical institutions can directly settle general outpatient expenses for medical treatment in different places across provinces, and medical treatment in different places in the region can be “same city”. change”. The direct settlement of outpatient medical expenses in different places in the Yangtze River Delta region has covered more than 20,000 medical institutions in 41 cities, and medical insurance matters such as direct settlement without registration for medical treatment have been integrated into the Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Demonstration Zone.
At present, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and other places are actively exploring regional integrated elderly care. In March this year, the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, Tianjin Civil Affairs Bureau and the Hebei Provincial Department of Civil Affairs jointly issued a notice on “Several Measures to Promote the Coordination of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Elderly Care Policies”, proposing to enjoy equal support from the three places' support policies. Elderly care institutions that have obtained grade (star) qualifications in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and meet the relevant policy conditions and scope of application of the three places can equally enjoy institutional bed operation subsidies for disabled elderly people, government purchase of services, integration of medical and nursing care, talent training, etc. support. Civil affairs departments at all levels in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should provide support to corresponding grade (star-rated) elderly care institutions in accordance with their respective support policies.
It is expected to become an important way to deal with aging.
Population aging is an inevitable trend and law of China's population development. Compared with other countries, China's population aging has two significant characteristics:
First, the base is large and the speed is fast. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that by the end of 2023, China’s population over 60 years old will exceed 296 million. Experts expect this number to exceed 400 million around 2035 and reach approximately 500 million by the middle of this century.
Second, the foundation is thin and heavy. Experts analyze that most countries in the world are already at a relatively high level of development when they enter an aging society, while China's aging occurs when per capita national income is low. In recent years, China's population aging has also led to increasing differences between urban and rural areas and between regions. These factors are intertwined and combined, posing new challenges to China's response to population aging.
Cross-city elderly care can balance the allocation of regional elderly care resources and better meet the care needs of some elderly people. In the future, it is expected to become one of the important ways for China to deal with the aging population.
At present, the elderly care needs of the elderly are becoming diversified and personalized. Industry insiders point out that an institution that can handle cross-city elderly care needs must have excellent service capabilities. The elderly choose to take care of their children across cities largely because they can buy better services at the same price. On the basis of providing medical care and other services, the spiritual and cultural needs of the elderly should also be met. Experts suggest that we can focus on promoting the extension of high-quality public cultural resources from central cities to surrounding cities, coordinate the integration of regional medical, cultural, sports and other infrastructure, establish a coordinated and supporting public service promotion mechanism, and further narrow the gap in public services within the region.
At present, China's institutional elderly care is in its infancy, and market competition is weak. In terms of quantity, according to incomplete statistics, there are 21,000 micro-sized elderly care institutions with less than 99 beds across the country, and there are only more than 1,000 very large elderly care institutions with more than 500 beds. In terms of types of elderly care institutions, public elderly care institutions, mainly welfare homes and nursing homes, account for half of the total.
In order to better meet the elderly care needs, the “14th Five-Year Plan for Actively Responding to Population Aging Project and Childcare Construction Implementation Plan” proposes to support the construction of model inclusive elderly care service institutions and support training and nursing care institutions affiliated to party and government agencies and state-owned institutions. Transform and develop inclusive pension plans.
With smooth transportation and policies, narrowing of regional economic development gaps, and further development of the elderly care industry, cross-city elderly care is a new model of elderly care that is expected to be favored by more and more elderly people.
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