Vigorously developing old-age care finance not only meets the practical need of the elderly population for living a better life, but also offers a brand-new driving force for high-quality economic and social development.

In the requirements for “making significant efforts in the Five Great Articles on Finance” of the Central Financial Work Conference, “old-age care finance” was for the first time officially proposed at a central conference. Developing old-age care finance is an important measure to cope with the aging population, and of great significance for improving the people’s well-being, promoting common prosperity and realizing the Chinese-type modernization.

HCHORIZON, a company under Fehorizon, is a large healthcare group in China with up to 25 member hospitals at present. Based on the service network, academic competence and medical technology of its member hospitals, HCHORIZON offers concrete support for providing medical services for the elderly, with focus on the construction of a characteristic old-age care service network combining medical and old-age care services.

In this issue, we will talk about HCHORIZON’s member hospital Siyang TCM Hospital, and see how Fehorizon tackles the challenge of old-age care at the county level.

Solving the Last Mile Problem in Communities

Closer Integration of Hospitals and Communities with Medical and Old-age Care Services

Ms. Ding is an old lady in Siyang, Jiangsu. She has had hemiplegia due to cerebral infarction for many years, which makes every step in her life particularly difficult. To her, even simple daily activities like bathing are like insurmountable barriers. Luckily, the home bathing service offered by Siyang TCM Hospital has warmed the heart of Ms. Ding like the warm spring sun and resolved the grief of her family. In this fast-response service, a professional bath assistant will arrive at the elderly’s home within 24 hours with a complete range of articles including an aseptic inflatable bathtub and bath towels, to help the elderly to take a bath in person. When preparing for the bath, the assistant will test the water temperature carefully, and have a cordial talk with the elderly to ease the tension. Afterwards, the bath assistant will take extra care to move the elderly into the bathtub levelly, and then begin the professional bathing process. From soaking to rubbing, and then to wiping and powdering, each step is conducted with love and respect, so that the elderly can experience unprecedented comfort and care. Ms. Ding’s families are full of praise for this service. They said with excitement that thanks to the considerate service as a result of Siyang TCM Hospital’s in-depth practice of the old-age care mode combining medical and old-age care services, their mother has regained dignity and happiness in life.

On the other side of Siyang County is the freshly completed Chengnan Health Center of Siyang TCM Hospital. This health and elderly care institution which integrates health management, long- & short-term nursing and elderly care services is an excellent demonstration of the innovative “hospital + nursing home” model of HCHORIZON, and yet another vivid practice of creating a regional health service ecosystem.

Occupying an area of 2180 square meters, this Health Center has 50 beds in total, and offers a range of professional services including health consultation, TCM services, post-hospital rehabilitation and long-term care. Furthermore, with the project as the center, it extends its influence to surrounding communities by bringing forward disease prevention and treatment gateways to carry out professional services including home-based health management, disease prevention and chronic disease management. Meanwhile, based on the profound medical resources of Siyang TCM Hospital, the Health Center has built a professional yet considerate medical team, to serve each and every elderly person at the Center with excellent medical techniques and meticulous care, so that they can feel at home while being taken care of by medical professionals. Since it officially went into operation in June, nearly 20 elderly people have checked in at the Health Center. The reassuring old-age life with the Center’s integrated medical and old-age care services has received unanimous praise from the elderly.

Rooted in Counties and Benefiting the Grass-roots Level

 Exploration of a Whole-new Sample of Old-age Services in Counties

Siyang is a county in Jiangsu with a population of 1.06 million, among which is a resident population of about 800,000. At the moment, it is going through the dual trials of population outflow and population aging. In this context, combining medical and old-age care services at the county level is not only a key strategy to cope with the challenge of population aging, but also an important measure to promote local economic and social development.

Through the integration of medical and old-age care services, Siyang County can effectively satisfy the needs of the elderly for medical services and old-age care and improve their life quality. Also, such mode can encourage the outflowing population to return to Siyang, especially those old people who hope to enjoy a peaceful old-age life in their hometown and their families. At the same time, the promotion of an integration of medical and old-age care services will stimulate the development of the health industry, and inject new vitality into the county economy. What’s more, the close integration of medical institutions and nursing institutions for the aged will improve the quality and efficiency of both their services, thereby increasing the well-being of the society and further enhancing social stability and harmony. It is a strategic measure of far-reaching significance.

Rooted in Siyang, Siyang TCM Hospital is always thinking of Siyang. It has especially set up a health maintenance center in its outpatient complex building, and established an “internet + medical, health & nursing care” whole-process comprehensive service system surrounding chronic disease management, rehabilitation and nursing services. Besides providing multi-dimensional and personally customized health maintenance services within the hospital, Siyang TCM Hospital also provides a diversity of home-based health management and nursing services for the elderly people in nearby communities through the online reservation system. Furthermore, the community “health huts” cooperatively constructed by the hospital and relevant government departments offer elderly-oriented services including remote interrogation, health education, free expert clinic, health assessment and exercises to improve body functions in addition to the recreational activities and meals provided by routine day-care centers. Therefore, they have attracted the attention of and been praised by relevant provincial and municipal departments multiple times. 

Under the guidance and support of HCHORIZON’s in-depth integrated medical and old-age care services, the multi-dimensional medical & old age care service network “within and outside hospital” of Siyang TCM Hospital has gradually become clear and offers a brand-new sample of combining medical and old-age care services in Siyang County.

On account of the increasingly more diversified health needs of the people, since 2022, HCHORIZON has continued to promote strategic upgrading and clearly proposed to “gain a foothold in counties and give first considerations to population aging and Healthy China”. From caring about diseases to caring for health, HCHORIZON takes the perspective of full-life-cycle health to satisfy the big health needs of millions of people in counties and turn hospitals into regional health platforms.

In the future, Fehorizon will vigorously promote the implementation and deepening of HCHORIZON’s “100 Counties Plan.” In addition to strengthening financial support for the health industry, the old-age care industry and the silver economy, it will make significant efforts in the Great Article on old-age care finance, and more importantly perfect its services and make continuous innovation as a practitioner of the old-age care industry, to promote the transition from “old-age care” to “old-age enjoyment” and enable each and every elderly person to enjoy their good old-age lives.