Seniors experience life at Tibet's hi-tech nursing home

LHASA－While celebrating China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival last month, seniors at a nursing home in Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region enjoyed Tibetan-style moon cakes while watching a performance.

"The filling is Tibetan quark cheese. I love their delicious sweet-and-sour taste," said Kardzo, 72, who is among more than 100 elderly residents at the smart nursing center in Maidrogungkar county in Lhasa, Tibet's capital city.

When Kardzo moved to the center at the end of last year, however, his first experiences were not so sweet. "I didn't know any of the people here, as we come from different villages," he said.

Gradually, he fell in love with life at the center thanks to its convenience and excellent service supported by advanced technology.

This year, eight intelligent nursing beds were put into service, with equipment that can monitor body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate.

"As the elderly spend a lot of time in bed, nurses can easily get their real-time health data via the monitoring system," said Tsewang Namgyai, director of the center.

The center organizes all kinds of activities during festivals and holidays to enrich the lives of the elderly, Namgyai added.

Chonyi Sangmo has been a carer at the center for five years and is quite familiar with the residents' health conditions and habits. "Here, we take care of seniors around the clock. We are with them all the time and talk to them a lot," she said.

Kardzo said, "We don't have to worry about food, clothes or housing here, and the nurses treat us just like our children do."

There are more than 4,470 people aged 60 or older in Maidrogungkar, accounting for about 9 percent of the population in a county that is pioneering the exploration of smart nursing home services in Lhasa, according to local authorities.

China has invested nearly 3 billion yuan ($464 million) in establishing 80 centralized nursing centers in Tibet. The extremely poor who are willing to live there are accepted.

Kardzo has been at the nursing home for nearly a year.

"The center is like a new home for me," he said.

Xinhua