Senior bathing services make big splash

Taking a simple shower or bath is a luxury for some elderly people, especially those with disabilities. That is why seniors in Southwest China's Chongqing are pleased with the emergence of a mobile bathing service, which has brought them comfort and dignity.

Liu Juchuan, an 80-year-old veteran with mobility issues, seldom took baths before the service was offered. His aging wife also struggles to get around, and their children don't live with them. Liu said they prefer to wait until their children visit to help them or just take quick showers rather than risk injury in a wet bathroom.

The couple's problems were solved three years ago, when a mobile bath van started to frequent their community in the city's Jiulongpo district.

"We feel so happy to have such service," a beaming Liu said.

During an inspection tour of an elder care service center in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Aug 17, President Xi Jinping said that as Chinese society ages, elder care programs and relevant industries should be vigorously developed, and related facilities should be built in areas with adequate conditions.

A report delivered by Xi to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Oct 16 stressed that China must pursue a proactive national strategy in response to its aging population, develop elder care programs and services and provide better services for elderly people who live alone. By doing so, the country can ensure that basic elder care is accessible to all Chinese seniors.

"The mobile bath van can be a 'timely rain' for many families," said Long Quanming, founder of Chongqing Sunshine Eldercare Service. Inspired by the bathing troubles experienced by his father, who broke his tailbone in 2015 and became partially disabled, Long showed interest in the elder care industry.

In 2017, Long designed a fully equipped mobile bath van, which has been awarded three national patents.

According to data from the latest national census, there are 264 million people age 60 and above in China, or about 18.7 percent of the population. There are 7 million such people living in Chongqing, roughly 21.8 percent of the city's population.

The problem is especially acute in Chongqing's Jiulongpo district, where there are more than 191,000 people age 60 and up — 22.6 percent of the district's population and higher than the city average, according to Guo Lulu, deputy director of the Jiulongpo civil affairs bureau.

"Our preliminary investigation showed that one of the most needed elder care services is bathing," Guo said.

To help solve this problem, the city's first elderly bathing demonstration center, containing mobile bath vans and fixed bathing service centers that served seniors for free, was jointly launched in December 2018 by the Chongqing Charity Federation, the Chongqing Pension Service Association and Chongqing Sunshine Eldercare Service in Jiulongpo.

In April 2019, Guo's bureau took the initiative in creating the city's first elder care service center, which provided at-home bathing services in the district's Bailin community.

"It's never easy being an elderly bathing service worker," said 44-year-old Long Surong from Chongqing Sunshine. "First and foremost, we should love others' elderly relatives as our own."

She said a bathing service is usually carried out by two to three workers. Before the bath, they will do health evaluations for the senior bathers, including taking their blood pressure. They also disinfect the bathtub, install a disposable bathtub bag, adjust the water to an appropriate temperature, help the elderly remove their clothes, lift them into the bathtub and wash their hair and bodies.

Long noted that after the bath, the workers will also trim the seniors' nails, shave facial hair and help them dress.

According to Chongqing Sunshine, so far, 10 mobile bath vans have provided free elderly bathing services in more than 200 communities, villages and institutions — including elder care centers, nursing and welfare homes — in the city's 27 districts. Over 200 bathing service workers from the company have provided more than 41,000 public welfare bathing services for disabled and partially disabled seniors, and those who live alone.

While the aging population has put pressure on Chinese society, it has also introduced the potential for the rise of the "silver economy", of which mobile bathing services are a part.

Beyond Chongqing, other places in China are taking note of the trend.

Back in 2019, a mobile bath van was put into use in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. And Long said Chongqing Sunshine signed an agreement in October with a community service company in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, whose seniors were then introduced to the elderly bathing service in December.

In February last year, the State Council, China's Cabinet, released a plan for the development of the country's elder care services system during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), as part of its efforts to implement a national strategy to address population aging.

Businesses that contribute to the expansion of elder care services, including mobile bath vans and community and at-home bathing services, will be supported by the plan.