‘Virtual nursing homes’ on the rise
Print Edition
IN-HOME nursing is emerging as a new choice in easing the pressure of China’s aging population.
In-home care agencies, also dubbed “virtual nursing homes,” guarantee similar services as brick-and-mortar nursing homes. But they are delivered directly to people’s addresses instead of residential nursing facilities, which are generally very crowded.
The trend is catching up as China grays more rapidly and conventional homes for the elderly face a shortfall in resources. China now has a staggering 200 million people aged 60 and over.
The number accounts for 14 percent of the total population, and is expected to surge to 400 million in 2050. But the country had a mere 40,000 nursing homes by the end of 2013. With fewer than 3.9 million beds available in those facilities, the pressure on nursing homes is overwhelming.
It is in this context that virtual nursing homes have sprung up in provinces like Jiangsu, Gansu, Hunan and Anhui, offering convenience and slashed demand on resources. The first one opened in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province in 2007.
Governments at all levels in China are taking pains to guide the development of virtual homes for the elderly.
In 2012, the Tianjin government blazed a new trail by teaming up with a domestic service provider called Emotte, extending the company's broad range of services to local communities, including house cleaning and meal deliveries.
In the past two years, a total of 14 traditional nursing homes in Tianjin have jumped on the bandwagon by offering door-to-door services to seniors, a move which has proved economical while serving more customers.
The fledgling industry has won praise from the aged, who tend to be more comfortable in the familiar environment of their own homes than in crowded nursing facilities.
Yin Yanbang, an 86-year-old Tianjin resident, said he prefers the new model because he can stay at home and enjoy domestic services by simply making a phone call.
Lin Shoujie, another Tianjin resident, shares the same view. Meal deliveries have saved him the trouble of cooking and helped him recover, thanks to the nutritious food.
Li Ling, a carer who works for Emotte, attributed the company's popularity to its system of performance-related pay.
“I never shirk my responsibilities because my salary is directly linked with my performance,” Li said, explaining that she gets her monthly income only after her client has given positive feedback to her employer.
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