To implement the national strategy for actively addressing population aging, further consolidate the foundational role of community (village) home-based elderly care services, and comprehensively enhance the development of community (village) elderly care services, in accordance with the “Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Strengthening Elderly Care Work in the New Era,” the “Opinions of the General Office of the CPC Henan Provincial Committee and the General Office of the Henan Provincial People’s Government on Strengthening the Construction of the Elderly Care Service System” (Yu Ban [2021] No. 33),the "Notice of the General Office of the Puyang Municipal People’s Government on Issuing the Puyang City ‘14th Five-Year Plan’ for High-Quality Development of Manufacturing and Six Other Special Plans" (Puyang Zhengban [2022] No. 39), and other relevant documents, and in light of the actual conditions of our city, this plan is hereby formulated.
I. General Requirements
(1) Guiding Principles
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and thoroughly carry out the important instructions and directives of General Secretary Xi Jinping regarding elderly care services. In accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the central, provincial, and municipal authorities, we will adhere to a combination of government leadership and multi-party participation, as well as a combination of basic guarantees and universal, diverse services,combining deepening reform with capacity building, and combining prioritization of key areas with systematic advancement. We will continuously improve the elderly care service network at the municipal, county, township, and village levels; enhance the quality and efficiency of community (village) elderly care services; promote the coordinated development of elderly care undertakings and industries; accelerate the construction of an elderly care service system that coordinates home-based, community-based, and institutional care while integrating medical, elderly care, and health rehabilitation services; and continuously meet the multi-level, diverse, and high-quality elderly care service needs of the elderly.
(2) Work Objectives
By the end of 2023, the primary role of family-based elderly care will be further consolidated, elderly care facilities will be further improved, the coverage of elderly care services will be further expanded, and the level of professionalization in elderly care services will be significantly enhanced. A “15-minute” home-based elderly care service circle will be established in urban communities, and a “1-kilometer” home-based elderly care service circle will be established in rural areas.By the end of 2025, 14 model street-level elderly care service centers, 55 township-level regional elderly care service centers, 220 community day care centers, and 800 rural “Happiness Homes” will be established.
II. Main Tasks
(I) Strengthening the Function of Family-Based Elderly Care
1. Enhance Family Care Capabilities. Promote the virtues of filial piety and respect for the elderly, reinforce the family’s responsibility and obligation to support the elderly, and consolidate the foundational role of family-based elderly care. Relying on the “2+20” provincial and municipal elderly care service talent training and practical training bases, conduct family elderly care training and services, and encourage family members to learn knowledge and skills related to elderly rehabilitation and nursing to improve their ability to care for the elderly.Encourage elderly care institutions and home-based elderly care service organizations with professional care capabilities to provide respite care services for family caregivers of elderly individuals with disabilities or dementia, offering short-term professional care services, and providing long-term care, rehabilitation, and nursing services to elderly individuals living at home who are of advanced age, disabled, or have functional impairments.(Responsible Units: Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau; governments of all counties [districts] and management committees of economic and technological development zones, industrial parks, and demonstration zones. The following measures must be implemented by the governments of all counties [districts] and the management committees of economic and technological development zones, industrial parks, and demonstration zones, and will not be listed separately.)
2. Implement home adaptation for the elderly.In accordance with national and provincial objectives, include households of elderly, disabled, or incapacitated individuals receiving decentralized support for the destitute within the scope of home adaptation for the elderly. Focusing on “ease of indoor mobility, safety in toileting and bathing, convenience in kitchen operations, improvement of the home environment, smart safety monitoring, and fitting of assistive devices,” and utilizing government subsidies and other measures, complete the home adaptation for 2,500 households of elderly individuals with special difficulties by the end of 2023;By the end of 2025, cumulatively complete aging-friendly renovations for 7,600 households of elderly individuals with special difficulties. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Bureau of Finance, Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Disabled Persons’ Federation)
(2) Improving Community (Village) Elderly Care Service Facilities
1. Effectively increase the supply of community-based elderly care facilities. Actively promote the development and utilization of existing resources, effectively revitalize idle land and facilities within and around communities, and continuously meet the spatial requirements for home-based and community-based elderly care services.When idle office buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals, sanatoriums, commercial facilities, and other structures are converted into elderly care facilities, they must comply with requirements for barrier-free environments, fire safety, environmental protection, and public health and epidemic prevention, as well as meet the standards for elderly care facilities. Relevant departments shall streamline administrative procedures, promptly process related formalities, and strengthen supervision and management. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Bureau of Civil Affairs)
2. Coordinate the construction of rural elderly care facilities. Make full use of idle resources such as school buildings, factory buildings, and village community centers to equip them with necessary facilities like card and board game rooms and rest areas, thereby renovating and establishing Rural Happiness Centers. Guide and support social forces in participating in the construction and operation of Rural Happiness Centers, providing elderly care services such as meal programs, cultural and recreational activities, and daily living assistance, as well as offering home visitation and care services to elderly residents living at home.By the end of 2023, ensure that all Rural Happiness Centers are fully operational and gradually integrate them into the city’s smart elderly care service system. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Development and Reform Commission)
3. Accelerate efforts to ensure community elderly care facilities meet standards. Elderly care facilities shall be designed and constructed in accordance with national and provincial construction standards and technical specifications. All newly developed residential areas must include elderly care facilities, which shall be planned, constructed, inspected, and delivered simultaneously with the residential units, with each facility covering an area of no less than 300 square meters. Projects that delay, reduce, suspend, or fail to construct elderly care facilities shall not be permitted to undergo final inspection until rectifications are fully implemented.In older urban areas and existing residential (small) communities, elderly care service facilities must be added through purchase, exchange, or lease, with each facility covering an area of no less than 200 square meters. The management of the designated use of community elderly care service facilities must be continuously strengthened. Support should be provided for the transfer of such facilities to social entities at low or no cost to carry out inclusive elderly care services, and unauthorized changes to their designated use are strictly prohibited. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs)
4. Focus on resolving fire safety inspection and acceptance issues for elderly care facilities. For elderly care institutions where fire safety and building standards are met but fire safety inspection and acceptance procedures have not been obtained due to prerequisites such as planning permits, land use classification, or real estate registration, county (district) governments shall convene relevant functional departments for consultation and jointly review and approve the necessary fire safety procedures. By the end of 2023, all elderly care facilities must complete fire safety inspections and acceptance, ensuring that fire safety equipment is fully equipped and management systems are standardized.(Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources and Planning, Municipal Bureau of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs)
(3) Enhancing Community (Village) Elderly Care Service Capabilities
1. Promote the efficient operation of community elderly care facilities. Emphasize the “Five-Pronged Approach” of standardized construction, chain-style operation, brand development, smart services, and standardized management. Encourage and support various elderly care service organizations to operate street-level elderly care service centers through a model where larger entities support smaller ones and key points drive broader coverage, thereby extending services to community day care centers.By the end of 2023, ensure that all community elderly care facilities are fully operational, providing home-based and community-based elderly residents with services such as full-time and day care, meal assistance and mobility support, daily living care, rehabilitation and nursing, emergency rescue, and emotional support, thereby promoting a comprehensive enhancement of community elderly care service capabilities. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Market Regulation Bureau)
2. Promote the effective integration of community service resources. Establish a “Five-Community Collaboration” mechanism centered on the community as a platform, social organizations as vehicles, social workers as support, community volunteers as auxiliaries, and community charitable resources as supplements, and extensively carry out volunteer activities to respect and care for the elderly.Encourage public officials, students at all educational levels, and volunteers to utilize their spare time to focus on the care needs of the elderly, providing services such as daily living assistance, home visits, cultural and recreational activities, casual conversation, and psychological counseling to seniors living alone or in empty-nest households. Establish and improve a volunteer service record system, and explore the implementation of a “volunteer service credit system.” (Responsible unit: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs)
3. Leverage the radiating and driving role of elderly care institutions. County-level special-needs care centers, while meeting the centralized care needs of elderly individuals with disabilities who are eligible for special assistance, shall open their doors to the general elderly population to continuously expand the supply of long-term care services for the elderly with disabilities; continue to implement the renovation and upgrading project for township nursing homes, and gradually transform them into regional elderly care service centers, prioritizing admission for those eligible for special assistance, with remaining beds open to the general elderly population.Support township nursing homes in managing, overseeing, and operating rural “Happiness Homes,” and expand services such as day care and home-based care. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs)
4. Implement the Elderly Care Service Demonstration Project. Through high-standard construction, efficient operations, and high-quality services, promote the creation of demonstration projects to establish model facilities for township nursing homes, subdistrict elderly care service centers, community day care centers, and rural “Happiness Homes.”By the end of 2023, 10 township nursing homes will be transformed into regional elderly care service centers, and 5 subdistrict elderly care service centers, 100 day care centers, and 100 Rural Happiness Homes will be established as demonstration projects.By the end of 2025, the transformation and upgrading rate of township nursing homes will be no less than 70%, the establishment rate of subdistrict elderly care service centers will be no less than 70%, the establishment rate of community day care centers will be no less than 70%, and the establishment rate of rural “Happiness Homes” will be no less than 30%. Appropriate awards and subsidies will be provided from welfare lottery public welfare funds to demonstration sites that demonstrate significant effectiveness, high service standards, a large number of service recipients, and strong social benefits. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Finance Bureau)
(IV) Innovating Community (Village) Elderly Care Service Models
1. Enhance integrated medical and elderly care service capabilities. In accordance with the principles of “convenience and mutual benefit,” encourage primary healthcare institutions and elderly care service providers to establish home-based hospital beds and home-based elderly care beds. Promote the simultaneous implementation of family doctor contract services and elderly care services, effectively align health management services with elderly care needs, and collaboratively carry out management and intervention for chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes among home-dwelling elderly, providing them with home-visit medical care, rehabilitation treatment, and elderly care services.Advance the eastward expansion project of the Municipal Comprehensive Elderly Care Service Center, adding 1,000 beds to the existing capacity. Fully leverage the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine in preventive care, chronic disease treatment, and rehabilitation to establish the Municipal Comprehensive Elderly Care Service Center as a flagship project for integrated medical and elderly care and health and elderly care services across the city, thereby leading and driving the high-quality development of integrated medical and elderly care work citywide. (Responsible Units: Municipal Health Commission, Civil Affairs Bureau)
2. Promote smart elderly care service models. Relying on the “1+8” smart elderly care service platform, fully utilize mobile apps and senior-friendly smart devices to facilitate supply-demand matching and intelligent monitoring, enabling the elderly to integrate into a smart society and enjoy the conveniences brought by “digital living.”In 2023, using Hualong District as a pilot, we will establish a smart elderly care service platform that integrates institutions, communities, and households through networked operations at the subdistrict and community levels. This will create a smart elderly care service network characterized by fully aligned supply and demand and fully integrated resources, providing seniors with “à la carte” online and offline services to enhance the intelligence and convenience of elderly care services.By the end of 2025, the construction of a smart care service system in urban communities across the city will be largely completed. Through remote monitoring, video surveillance, and one-touch emergency call systems, we will reduce the risk of accidents among the elderly. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Finance Bureau)
3. Improve the care service system for rural seniors. Promote the Fanxian model of “neighborhood care, day care, community-village joint care, and centralized care” for vulnerable groups to firmly safeguard the basic livelihood of the people. Explore and implement a funding model where “the government contributes a portion, the collective contributes a portion, society donates a portion, and individuals pay a portion” to ensure the sustainable operation of rural elderly care facilities.Leveraging the “Five-Star” Party Branch initiative, strengthen care services for rural elderly groups such as those left behind, empty-nesters, and those living alone. Establish a rural mutual-aid elderly care service framework led by townships, managed by village committees, and involving broad participation from the Elderly Association, younger healthy seniors, rural women left behind, village cadres, Party members, and volunteers, thereby supporting the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. In 2023, cultivate two municipal-level model counties for rural elderly care services, summarize and promote advanced experiences, and elevate the standard of rural elderly care services.(Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Bureau of Rural Revitalization, Bureau of Civil Affairs)
4. Support the integrated development of “elderly care plus other industries.” Fully open the elderly care market and encourage industries such as property management, domestic services, healthcare, culture and tourism, sports, and real estate to integrate with the elderly care sector. This will diversify service models to meet the diverse and personalized needs of the elderly.Encourage eligible counties (districts) to take the lead in establishing demonstration zones for the health and elderly care industry that integrate home-based and community-based elderly care, health preservation and wellness, rehabilitation and nursing, and leisure and vacation services. Support eligible counties (districts) in building elderly care industrial parks, using public services to drive industrial development and industrial development to support public services, thereby promoting the coordinated development of elderly care services and the elderly care industry. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Development and Reform Commission, Finance Bureau, Tax Bureau)
(5) Promoting Quality and Efficiency Improvements in Elderly Care Institution Services
1. Guide the diversified development of elderly care institutions. Focusing on the urgent long-term care needs of the elderly who are advanced in age, functionally impaired, or disabled, we will vigorously support elderly care institutions in actively participating in community-based and home-based elderly care services. We will foster the development of a group of comprehensive, specialized, chain-operated, and branded community elderly care service providers, supporting them in achieving legitimate returns and sustainable development.Encourage elderly care service providers to offer professional services to families, including daily living assistance, household management, rehabilitation care, and emotional support. Guide social forces to establish elderly care service providers targeting middle- and high-income families to meet the diverse and personalized service needs of the elderly.Deepen reforms of public elderly care institutions and optimize the bed structure of urban and rural care facilities, ensuring that nursing-type beds account for no less than 55% of total beds in public institutions. By the end of 2023, cultivate 3–5 exemplary models of community elderly care services; by the end of 2025, foster no fewer than 10 locally renowned elderly care service institutions. (Responsible Units: Municipal Health Commission, Civil Affairs Bureau)
2. Expand coverage for basic service recipients. Focus on “providing a safety net, ensuring basic needs, and promoting universal access.” For urban and rural elderly individuals who are destitute, disabled, or partially disabled and included in the safety net coverage, those who wish to reside in county-level destitute care centers shall be accommodated to the fullest extent possible; those who wish to reside in township nursing homes shall be admitted to the fullest extent possible.Priority will be given to including disabled elderly individuals aged 60 and over, childless elderly individuals aged 70 and over, and elderly individuals aged 80 and over from low-income households in the scope of basic elderly care coverage. For those willing to reside in county-level special-needs care institutions or township nursing homes, bed fees may be appropriately reduced or waived. (Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Finance Bureau)
III. Support Measures
(1) Strengthen Organizational Leadership. The Municipal Leading Group for Strengthening the Construction of the Elderly Care Service System shall play a leading and coordinating role, regularly studying and resolving key and difficult issues in the development of home-based and community elderly care services, and gradually establishing a work mechanism involving unified task allocation at the beginning of the year, unified supervision and promotion during the year, and unified assessment and evaluation at the end of the year. Principal leaders at the county (district), township, and subdistrict levels shall personally oversee key tasks in elderly care services to ensure the effective implementation of all related work.All departments shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, strengthen coordinated planning and effectively implement community-based and home-based elderly care services.
(2) Increase Fiscal Investment. Municipal and county-level governments must earnestly fulfill their responsibilities to guarantee basic elderly care services and guide the development of inclusive elderly care services. They shall establish a funding guarantee system for elderly care services and include funds for the development of such services as major public welfare expenditures in the fiscal budget. The proportion of lottery public welfare funds allocated to support the development of elderly care services shall not be less than 55%.Governments at all levels must ensure the proper use of funds such as national and provincial subsidies for the construction of community elderly care facilities and subsidies for community-embedded elderly care beds. They must implement preferential policies for the elderly care sector, including loan interest subsidies, tax breaks, and reductions in administrative fees.
(3) Strengthen Talent Support.High-quality efforts will be made to advance the “Certified for All, Skilled Henan” initiative. Mechanisms linking the training of elderly care service personnel with the talent needs of care institutions will be improved, and the development of municipal-level training bases and practical training centers for elderly care service personnel will be accelerated. Relying on provincial and municipal-level training and practical training bases, continuous efforts will be made to strengthen the training of elderly care workers. Municipal-level elderly care skills competitions will be held regularly to attract new labor force entrants into the elderly care service industry. The system requiring certified caregivers to work on the job will be implemented, and the “Puyang Caregiver” brand will be established.
(4) Strengthen Comprehensive Supervision. All responsible units must adhere to the principle of “whoever approves, supervises; whoever oversees, supervises,” guiding elderly care service institutions to prioritize long-term safe operations, fulfill safety management responsibilities, and proactively prevent and eliminate safety risks and hazards.All counties (districts) shall, in accordance with the requirements of the “Implementation Opinions of the Puyang Municipal People’s Government Office on Establishing and Improving the Comprehensive Supervision System for Elderly Care Services to Promote High-Quality Development of Elderly Care Services” (Puyang Government Office [2022] No. 30), earnestly fulfill their local supervision responsibilities and strengthen guidance, management, and oversight of elderly care institutions.
