The first public geriatric hospital in Wuhan:
80-year-old patients are considered "young people" here
Zhou Hua, Dean of Wuhan Donghu Hospital (left), and Deputy Dean Deng Ling (right) were guests in the live broadcast room of the Yangtze River Daily.
Photo by reporter Ke Zhigang
Wuhan Evening News (Reporter Wang Chunlan, Correspondent Wu Ping) The average age of hospitalized patients is 85 years old, and most of them suffer from multiple diseases.
Because of the meticulous care of the elderly and helping them live longer, in 2020, Wuhan Donghu Hospital won the honorary title of "National Civilization for Respecting the Elderly".
"We advise hospitalized grandparents to do the'three young': less unnecessary checkups, less medication, less infusions; the elderly praise the hospital as the'three good': good environment, good technology, and good service." June On the afternoon of the 21st, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission and Yangtze River Daily jointly organized a series of interviews on “Learning from Party History and Practicing Actions and Serving Ten Thousands of Health”, inviting Zhou Hua, Dean of Wuhan Donghu Hospital, and Deng Ling, Vice Dean of Wuhan Donghu Hospital to be a guest in the live broadcast room of Changjiang Daily , Talk about how the "Silver Hair Era" provides personal and caring health care services for the elderly.
Wuhan Donghu Hospital is the first public geriatric hospital in our city. It has a history of more than 100 years. It is located in the 5A-level East Lake Ecotourism Scenic Area. The north gate of the hospital faces the famous East Lake Greenway; there are mountains and lakes in the hospital. There are green spaces, more than 1,000 trees of various kinds, and 8 sweet-scented osmanthus trees that are one hundred years old, which can be described as "the most beautiful garden-style hospital", which is very suitable for the elderly to recuperate.
"An 80-year-old patient is considered a'young man' in our hospital." Zhou Hua said half-jokingly.
Because of its special geographical location, Donghu Hospital is forced to embark on a path of differentiated development, focusing on providing chronic disease diagnosis and treatment and health care services for the elderly.
According to statistics from the hospital, 99% of the patients who come to the hospital are over 60 years old, and there are many patients in their 90s or even hundreds of years old. Their average age is 85 years old.
The life of the elderly is often a "comorbidity", that is, a collection of multiple diseases.
According to the statistics of the hospital, the average number of hospitalized patients was 8 diseases, and most of them suffered from 10 or 20 diseases at the same time.
How to let the elderly enjoy a higher quality of life?
The hospital has established influential municipal-level key specialties such as geriatrics, chronic diseases of the elderly (health management), and traditional Chinese medicine rehabilitation medicine. It has formed a fully functional diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation system and health management system for elderly diseases. It combines community and family co-management to help Old people live long.
Deng Ling introduced that as a geriatric hospital, respect for the elderly is the core service concept of the hospital. Usually doctors and nurses refer to patients as grandparents. In addition to providing diagnosis and treatment services for the elderly, they also help them take care of their daily lives and teach them to use intelligence. The mobile phone is as caring as my younger generation.
"In the past, the old concept used to think that a person must be completely cured before they can be considered effective. This concept is facing a refresh: the'silver-haired age' is coming, people are living longer and longer, and more than 60% of the diseases that accompany aging cannot be cured. But it can be controlled. We must face aging correctly, learn to live peacefully with these chronic diseases, and "long life" together." Zhou Hua said, we pay more attention to the quality of life of the elderly, avoid excessive treatment, try not to damage the fragile body of the elderly, and reduce diagnosis and treatment. Risks are really beneficial to the health and longevity of the elderly.
The two deans expressed that it is necessary to continue to promote the high-quality development of hospitals to meet the growing health needs of the aging society and make their own contributions to the construction of a healthy Wuhan.