Since last year, Shanghai has opened over 80 community nursing centers to meet the growing demand for professional care services close to home. These centers focus on providing tailored support, particularly for seniors, bringing high-quality nursing services directly to neighborhoods across the city.

One beneficiary of the new nursing centers is an elderly resident surnamed Wang living in Yangpu district. Wang, a colon cancer patient who has undergone multiple surgeries, requires wound care, intravenous port maintenance, and rehabilitation services. The elderly man has been able to receive the nursing services he needs at the newly established Pingliang Community Nursing Center.

Many cancer and blood disease patients need long-term intravenous treatments or repeated blood draws, and their pains can be alleviated by using a "peripherally inserted central catheter", or PICC, which delivers medications directly through deeply embedded vein channels.

At community nursing centers, an increasing number of residents have been able to enjoy professional services such as PICC line maintenance, as well as wound nursing. As of the end of September, nearly 1 million people had benefited from such services.

In Minhang district, the Pujin Community Nursing Center is able to treat a variety of wounds, including pressure sores, diabetic foot ulcers, and burns. The center also provides wound dressing changes and suture removal for post-surgical patients.

The Zhuanqiao Community Nursing Center has initiated a knee protection program, and it has developed small-scale equipment for home rehabilitation, helping improve quality of life for patients.

Meanwhile, the Pingliang Community Health Service Center in Yangpu district has assembled a specialized nursing team covering six areas—wound care, vascular access maintenance, diabetes care, traditional Chinese medicine care, rehabilitation care, and palliative care. The center has introduced high-quality resources from top-tier municipal hospitals to ensure the best medical resources are available.

Sources: Shanghai Observer, Jinshan District Commission of Health