Expo gives elderly a big helping hand

Nursing homes exhibit medical services in a city with 2 million senior citizens, Li Fusheng, Ren Yibin and Liu Lu report.

Senior citizens around the city benefited from the bevy of information provided by an expo on healthcare and healthy lifestyles held in Nantong, Jiangsu province, from Nov 7 to 9.

Designed to serve as an information platform for the local aging population about reliable health services, according to the organizers, the expo attracted more than 10 nursing homes to exhibit their services to the elderly.

According to the Nantong committee on aging, the city is home to more than 2 million residents over the age of 60, which accounts for 26.5 percent of the total population.

An elderly man tries a rehabilitation device for the arms at a healthcare and healthy lifestyle expo in Nantong, Jiangsu province, earlier this month. XU CONGJUN FOR CHINA DAILY

Among the exhibitors was the Sunshine Nursing Home. The five-year old institution said it is open to senior citizens ranging from those who can fully take care of themselves to those who are incapable of doing so, with all its 100 staff members licensed by the government.

The representative of the nursing home said the facility attended the expo so that more people would learn about its services.

Dasheng Nursing Home is a nonprofit organization affiliated to Nantong-based Dasheng Group.

By utilizing its medical resources and wards, the nursing home offers medical care, rehabilitation as well as terminal care for senior citizens.

“What distinguishes us from others is that we offer medical and rehabilitative services. Senior citizens will have less worries here,” said Wang Wenbin, head of the organization.

Nantong Open University and Nantong Center for Aging Population attended the expo to offer senior citizens greater lifestyle opportunities.

The university is offering academic programs tailor-made for the elderly who want to receive lessons across a number of subjects, such as computer skills, and to senior citizens who wish to realize their dreams of receiving a bachelor’s degree but never had the opportunity in their youths.

The center for aging population is a public facility where the elderly can read, play chess, sing and play musical instruments. They can also have gatherings or hold parties there. It attracts more than 2,000 people on a daily basis.

"The center is the home for the aging population. And our purpose is to enable them to have fun," said the center's representative at the expo.

Some exhibitors offered free physical checkups. An elderly couple, surnamed Ji, came to the booth of Suzhou Invacare because it displayed an appliance that can monitor people’s health rates.

"It is wonderful. It allows us to have a better understanding of our bodies and take some preventive measures against aging-related problems," said the wife.

Hu Meiying, an expo visitor, said many exhibitors offered useful brochures, like those on health and finance.

"The expo showcases many things we are concerned about. Those leaflets are really informative," said Hu.

Property developers that offer housing projects for the elderly also attended the expo.

"At our community, they can experience top-level medical checkups, considerate services as well as healthy food," said a salesman.

He said the buildings are equipped with such things as emergency response systems and wheelchair corridors.

Food producers also attended the expo. Huang Jianfeng, a representative at Annong Yipin, said the expo helped boost the brand's popularity among city residents.

"(The products) are really good for the health," said Zhang Meiling, who bought five bottles of honey and three packets of red dates.

Contact the writers through lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn