Is the daily life of the elderly convenient? How is the operation status of community canteens? Journalist on-site visits, hot summer journalist | service | community
Is the daily life of the elderly convenient in the scorching summer? What should I do if I have difficulty getting into the kitchen or doing household chores? What services can the community provide and what areas need improvement? Recently, the reporter visited Songnan Town, which ranks second in terms of aging population in Baoshan District.
Helping the elderly: taking care of life and comforting emotions
At around 8 o'clock in the morning of July 19th, Lou Xingli, an elderly person living in Jiajun Xiangshan Garden, began to wait for the doorbell to ring. At 9 o'clock, the bell rang and Aunt Lou smiled, "It's Xiaocheng here."
Xiao Cheng's name is Cheng Cuihua. He is a home-based elderly care service staff member at the Songnan Town Elderly Service Center, providing free door-to-door services for the elderly in the town. Because Aunt Lou had already explained her needs during the appointment, Cheng Cuihua greeted her and started to get busy. Sweep the floor, mop the floor, make the bed, wipe the dust, tidy up the table, cook vegetables, and be nimble.
"Auntie, your hair has just been cut, it looks great! Do you want to help you cut your nails later?" While working, Cheng Cuihua was concerned about the old man's recent situation and asked her if there was anything else she could help with. "It's okay, you can do it slowly, don't be in a hurry." Aunt Lou, who spoke with a Changxing Island accent, sat on a chair and handed over a bottle of salt soda. Although we haven't known each other yet, Aunt Lou has already given this "little girl" a thumbs up many times.
Neighborhood committee staff told reporters that Aunt Lou is 68 years old and has been living in the community for ten years. She lost her independence and her dependent spouse passed away last year. She also suffered a disability in her hands due to a traffic accident and has always been a key focus of care in the community. In June of this year, Songnan Town launched a pilot project for the "Kissing Home" elderly service project, which included 180 elderly orphans, including Aunt Lou, in the list, providing basic services such as daily care, medical accompaniment, and spiritual and cultural support.
"A morning with Xiaocheng, happy." You can hear her need for companionship from the old man's words. Last week, barber Wang Yan, who came to the elderly for a free haircut, also found that when she saw her, the elderly became particularly talkative and would take the initiative to talk about their youth and past loved ones. "When Auntie spoke, she was very calm, but I had tears in my eyes as I listened," said Wang Yan.
The elderly have other difficulties. For example, Aunt Lou is applying for a disability certificate and needs to go to the town social security center a few kilometers away from home to complete the procedures. A few days ago, Cheng Cuihua heard the old man mention this matter and took the initiative to accompany him. "Auntie used to live in the hospital before. She would feel dizzy if she walked for a long time, and it was so hot outside. I happened to have an electric scooter, so I took her there."
In the past, some elderly care services were mainly aimed at the elderly population aged 80 and above. Currently, the "Kissing Home" project has expanded its service coverage and content. In the opinion of Qin Si, the director of the Social Affairs Office in Songnan Town, these "silent minorities" also need to be cared for and cared for, ensuring that they receive care in their daily lives and providing emotional comfort. It is reported that Songnan Town will provide 16 services in six categories based on the different needs of the bottom support, lifting, and customized populations, including support for care, housing, medical care, entertainment, cleaning, and emergency care. The project will pilot 180 elderly individuals living alone in the town as service targets, and gradually expand the service targets to elderly individuals living alone in the town based on the results.
At the bedside of Aunt Lou, the reporter saw the installed "one click communication for the elderly" device. From the appearance, the device looks like an electronic alarm clock, with its core function being that in case of an emergency, the elderly can immediately press the red "One Touch" button above the device, and the elderly service center, urban transportation center, and community will immediately receive information and send professional rescue personnel to intervene and deal with it as soon as possible. Click the "Phone" button, and the elderly can contact the 114 service platform to make appointments for various elderly service content.
However, in practical experience, there is still a lot of room for improvement in "One Click Assistance for the Elderly". For example, the stability of the system needs to be improved. When the elderly person speaks, the operator repeatedly says that they cannot hear clearly, and the elderly person needs to constantly repeat it; For example, if the elderly person's information file has not yet been formed, when making an appointment for service, they should "report their home door" and provide information such as name and address. In addition, some elderly people only speak Shanghainese or have unclear speech, and operators should prepare contingency plans. Regarding this, the relevant person in charge stated that the system is currently undergoing continuous debugging and improvement. After its official opening, it will ensure complete functionality and convenient operation, and an assessment mechanism will also be formed.
Community cafeteria: Daily sales of 8500 "internet celebrity buns"
In hot weather, buying groceries and cooking become unbearable. For many elderly people, there are only one or two people at home, and it often takes two to three days to cook a meal. The quality and nutrition of the vegetables are not guaranteed after being left for a long time, and they do not have the habit of ordering takeout. In this situation, the community cafeteria rooted in the community has become the best choice.
At 10:35 am, the reporter arrived at the one-fifth community restaurant on Songnan Road, where many elderly people were queuing up to buy noodles and cooked food stalls at the entrance. Restaurant manager Sun Chao introduced that the cooked food stall is a newly established restaurant that mainly sells cooked dishes with local flavors. The noodle stall has become a popular shop on the street for over a year, loved not only by the elderly, but also by many young people, surrounding office workers, and workers who often queue up to buy. At present, the stall is open from 6:30am to 7pm, and can sell 8500 buns a day. Customers who buy more can buy more than 20 at once.
There are many steamed bun shops on the market, why is this one popular? One of the reasons is the abundance of varieties. There are three or four choices in the series of meat buns, vegetarian buns, Shaomai, Mantou and Steamed rolls, with sweet and salty tastes. In addition, Tea egg, soybean milk, black rice porridge and pumpkin millet porridge are also sold. The more important reason is the affordable price. The price of a large bag of fresh meat is 2.5 yuan, a mushroom bag is 2 yuan, a knife cut Mantou is 1 yuan, and a black rice porridge is 3 yuan. The above price is an ordinary retail price. There is also a row of old prices on the price list, which is more favorable than the former. For example, the fresh meat big bag is only 2 yuan, the mushroom vegetable bag is only 1.6 yuan, and the knife cut Mantou is only 0.6 yuan. The lightbox advertisement at the entrance of the restaurant and the giant billboard to the south clearly indicate that this is a meal aid for the elderly in Songnan Community, and you can enjoy a discounted price with a Shanghai Elderly Care Card.
The reporter noticed that there is also a row of red characters on the lightbox advertisement: with the Shanghai Elderly Care Card, one large meat dish, one small meat dish, two vegetarian dishes, and one soup only cost 12.75 yuan. Manager Sun said that this is a discounted package specifically designed for the elderly, and the company will provide a menu every week to ensure that dishes are not duplicated seven days a week.
The old man Shen Xuejun, who was having dinner, introduced the set meal at noon that day to the reporter. The stainless steel dinner plate contained braised beef in brown sauce, minced tofu, fried corn with edamame beans and fried oilwheat dishes, and rice and laver Egg&vegetable soup. 10: At 30, the stall had just started operating when Aunt Shen, who had just bought something from the nearby Lianhua supermarket, walked in and purchased a set meal. "The food here is affordable, the taste is good, and the key is cleanliness and hygiene, which is even better than what I used to have in the cafeteria of my previous workplace. Aunt Shen said that she is 83 years old and lives alone. She accidentally burned her arm when buying Jishao before. After the community cafeteria opened, she often eats lunch here." I don't want to eat overnight food even on hot days. There are many people here, and the food is fresh enough every day. "
If you don't want to eat a set meal, the elderly can also choose their own dishes at stir fry, clay pot, or noodle stalls. An elderly couple living in Seven Villages in Songnan said that they visit restaurants almost every day, and the price is very affordable after receiving an 85% discount on their elderly card. The two ordered Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs, Sweet and sour pork, Chinese yam fungus and two portions of rice that day. The original price was 32 yuan, and the discounted price was 27.2 yuan. Manager Sun said that there are also many elderly people who order self selected dishes like this. They share a few dishes and can add more if there is not enough rice. After the discount, the average cost per person is also around 15 yuan.
Just after 11 noon, more than half of the community restaurant is already full, and there are still more than a dozen people queuing to order. A resident told reporters that another nearby community cafeteria is not as lively. In fact, residents of Songnan Seven Village and Eight Village are closer there, but they have to walk 2 kilometers to get there. Why sacrifice the near for the far? A resident of Songnan Eight Villages, who was dining, said straightforwardly, "The price is similar, but this one has more options and a better taste. It would be better to walk a little more to come over."
The original intention of setting up a community cafeteria was to assist with meals nearby, but the elderly also vote with their feet. In addition, restaurants not only serve the elderly, but are also open to society. Some restaurants with unreasonable location and unsatisfactory dishes should also be prepared to be eliminated by the market. The relevant person in charge of Songnan Town stated that the supervision and communication work of the community cafeteria will be done well in the future to better meet the needs of the surrounding population.
