Awards for outstanding senior care advisers
Some of the city's outstanding senior-care advisers with their awards.
Fifty senior-care advisers were honored by Shanghai's civil affairs authorities on Wednesday in recognition of their outstanding efforts in providing services for the elderly.
With the increase in the number of old people in the city, the demand for services had also increased and diversified, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau said.
Cultivating senior-service professionals and accelerating the formation of the city's senior-service talent group has become a priority in Shanghai, and nursing workers and community-based senior-care advisers are an important part of that development, officials said.
In May, 2018, Shanghai began a trial of a senior-care adviser system at 68 residential communities.
Advisers provide consultation on the services available, senior-care programs and policies, long-term nursing insurance and subsidies for the elderly.
They offer useful information, recommend the best services to match their needs and help the elderly gain familiarity with the senior-care resources available to them, the bureau said.
The 50 people honored on Wednesday were selected from about 2,200 advisers in the city, according to the bureau.
A retiree surnamed Wang who lives in the Liangcheng Subdistrict of Hongkou District sought help from senior-care adviser Ma Wei after his wife had sprained her foot and she was unable to prepare their meals.
Ma helped organize a meal-delivery service at a community-based canteen and worked out services for the family.
"Such senior-care service is so considerate," said Wang.
Shanghai had 5.18 million residents over the age of 60 at the end of 2019, an increase of 2.9 percent on the year before and accounting for 35.2 percent of permanent residents.
