Wenzhou Danan Street's "various patterns of elderly care" to creating a brand new community for the elderly

Every morning, Mrs. Deng, who is over 80 years old, takes a leisurely walk in the pocket park with the help of her walker, followed by a meal at the community senior canteen— all without the need for her children's supervision. This independence is possible thanks to the recent accolade awarded to Huailiutang Community in Danan Street, recognized as a "National Model Elderly-Friendly Community" and "Zhejiang Province's Barrier-Free Community". Here, every building and park entrance is equipped with accessible pathways, ensuring that Mrs. Deng can smoothly navigate her way out and engage in community activities on her own.

The community has taken a holistic approach to elder care, initiating improvements in health care, food, housing, and transportation. This strategy aligns with the blueprint of the "Five-Minute Elderly-Friendly Convenience Circle", aiming to enhance the quality of life for the elderly with attentive services that indulge and pamper them.

At the rehabilitation equipment rental center, items such as compassionate wheelchairs are readily available for the elderly to rent without leaving their homes". I started with the intention of just trying it out, but indeed, it turned out to be very useful. Buying one would cost over a thousand yuan, so renting has reduced our financial burden and met our short-term needs", says Mr. Feng, a resident.

Moreover, the community has partnered with top-tier hospitals, pharmacies, and medical enterprises to periodically provide health assessments, basic medical care, and rehabilitative nursing for the elderly, ensuring they have access to immediate and local health services, thereby enhancing their baseline health.

To foster a healthy and positive outlook on life amongst the elderly, the community actively explores a "cultural eldercare" model. By inviting inheritors of intangible cultural heritage to train the elderly, they enable seniors to rediscover the vigor of youth through cultural immersion.

In the community, there are 19 senior volunteer groups, formed by relatively younger, healthy, and enthusiastic seniors. Under the community's organization, these volunteers provide one-on-one services, pairing up with older, solitary residents to assist with grocery shopping, cleaning, emotional comfort, and running errands for medications, creating a "silver-haired guardianship" service platform.

The community also vigorously promotes "Party-building joint construction" services for the elderly, fulfilling "tiny wishes" of respect for the aged, and implementing over 180 happy events catering to eldercare. These initiatives actively outline a blueprint for a contented and dignified eldercare model, continually energizing services for the elderly, ensuring that every senior experiences a profound sense of well-being. (ZhongXin)