The younger generation of bathing assistants "apprentice" to keep the dignity of the elderly [Services from price to equipment have been "Chinese-style improved" to attract the post-80s and 90s to enter the industry]
Youth workplace
"If the water is hot, just blink." Since her mother-in-law couldn't speak to respond, Yan Yang Junqi could only pay attention to her mother-in-law's facial expressions.
Inconvenience of movement, disease-riddled, communication barriers... In the eyes of young people, taking a bath every day is impossible, but for these elderly people, it is "difficult to go to the sky", and the frequency of bathing for many disabled elderly people is based on years. calculate.
At the same time, in the face of the care of their children, privacy often becomes a difficult problem that they can't even talk about when they blushed.
In this context, the bath service came into being.
Compared with traditional housekeeping care, there are still many young faces in the group of bath assistants.
In their view, the important thing is not only to help the elderly take a bath, but also to keep their dignity.
process
"Blind detachment" under the bath towel
"Blind wear" in the quilt
On a hot summer afternoon, Yan Yang Junqi and his team of three came to the door of a unit building.
I saw him carrying a large medical kit on his shoulders, dragging a bulging basket of equipment with the other hand, leaning on his side, and moving forward cautiously.
This time, they are going to bathe a mother-in-law who has been paralyzed in bed for two years due to a cerebral infarction.
Entering the door, the first step is to measure blood pressure, blood sugar and body temperature for the mother-in-law, and ask the family about the past medical history. This is the physical examination before bathing and the second evaluation after the remote medical registration.
In order to prevent accidentally touching the mother-in-law's nasogastric feeding tube during the bath, they first used medical tape to gently stick the nasogastric feeding tube on her mother-in-law's face.
Afterwards, the three of them worked together in a division of labor, using a constant temperature tub to receive water from the water heater and adjust the water temperature, while laying the inflatable bathing bed on the bed.
If the young people's shower pursues a kind of invigorating dripping water from the top of their heads, the elderly's bathing only seeks to be cautious and gentle.
The bath bed that has not been inflated is flat, instead of a large lift, just a gentle side shift can make the mother-in-law lie down in the groove in the middle of the bath bed.
The preparations were ready, fully taking into account the privacy of the elderly, they covered the body of the mother-in-law with a large disposable towel, and the next undressing and bathing were also carried out under this large towel.
"If the water is hot, just blink." Since her mother-in-law couldn't speak to respond, Yan Yang Junqi could only pay attention to her mother-in-law's facial expressions.
From the hair and ears, to the fingers and toes, every part of the mother-in-law's body has been carefully "cared for".
They sometimes held the shower head and slowly poured water over their mother-in-law's body, and sometimes they "blindly" stretched their hands under the bath towel and gently rubbed it with a disposable bath towel.
After the bath was over, the drainage holes of the bath bed were opened, the wet towel on the mother-in-law was removed, and a dry bath towel was covered "seamlessly".
The cleaned mother-in-law was carried back to the bed. Just like the "blind stripping" under the bath towel, the "blind wearing" in the quilt was also a technical task.
"The elderly we serve are usually wearing diapers, and practice makes perfect, just help them put on their diapers and tops under the quilt." Yan Yang Junqi said.
The last step is to test the mother-in-law's vital signs again, and do a post-bath examination. When the mother-in-law is in a stable state, the bathing assistance is perfectly over.
"I wish I met you sooner!" "I hope you will do better and serve more elderly people." Seeing her mother-in-law sleeping comfortably on the bed after taking a bath, her daughter expressed her gratitude and encouragement over and over again. .
For door-to-door bath assistance services like this, Yan Yang Junqi can usually complete two to three orders a day, and the service time for each elderly person is about 1 hour.
He remembered that once, an aunt placed an order for a disabled old mother. The old mother was 93 years old and had not taken a hot bath in bed for nearly ten years.
"So comfortable, so comfortable!" The aunt shouted excitedly while watching them bathe their mother.
"Being recognized is a kind of happiness. Although this job is a little tiring physically, it is very satisfying mentally." Yan Yang Junqi said.
Whenever he sees the grateful eyes of his family members and the appearance of the old man who fell asleep peacefully after taking a bath, he will have a full sense of accomplishment.
analyze
Why are more and more young people willing to become bath assistants?
It is worth noting that in recent years, more and more young faces have appeared in this emerging professional group, and their joining is both by chance and destiny.
Zhou Na, born in the 1980s, is also the head of the Sichuan Lejia Nursing Company.
A year ago, her mother was unfortunately diagnosed with brain cancer. Until her death, the old man failed to take a hot bath.
Zhou Na admitted that a large part of the reason for jumping out of the traditional cultural industry and joining the bathing industry is to make up for her regrets towards her mother.
"The best bathing service in the hospital at that time was to take a handkerchief bath. To put it bluntly, the water on the handkerchief was not twisted very dry, and then the old man was wiped all over his body, but even so, the cost was not cheap." For a while, Zhou Na noticed that there are many elderly people in the same situation as her mother, and bathing is a common problem.
In July 2021, Zhou Na came into contact with the bathing aid project, from the introduction of equipment to the formulation of professional textbooks to the completion of the students' exams. After more than half a year, the bathing aid project has been completed in the market.
At present, the company has 60 or 70 bath assistants, a small part of which are born in the 1980s, and most of them are born in the 90s. "Even the families we have served are surprised, why so many children are willing to work in this pension industry. "
According to Zhou Na’s observation, the post-90s generation are now very good at analyzing the elderly care market. “There is a huge shortage of professional nursing staff. In such a large market gap, thousands of troops must enter this industry. Many young people look at it. to this trend.”
"I just told you that there is this project, but I didn't ask you to do it." Three months ago, her mother was a little surprised to learn that Yan Yang Junqi had quit his original job and switched careers as a bath assistant.
Yan Yang Junqi is 28 years old this year. After graduating from university, he has been engaged in new media related work.
In 2020, in a chat with his mother, he accidentally learned that Japan has a bathing aid project, "I was skeptical at the time, thinking that it would definitely not work in China, and the elderly in China should not be able to accept the help of strangers. Take a shower." Until two years later, he browsed the short video platform and found that a bathing service actually appeared in his hometown Chengdu.
"I grew up with my grandparents and grandparents. Now that they are older, I spend less time with them. I think being a bath assistant to help the elderly is a good thing to give back to the society. In the future, even in the When we get older, the industry will still serve us.”
At first, Yan Yang Junqi just planned to use the knowledge of new media to promote the bathing aid project. He never thought that he would really "get started". It was only after observing the staff training that his interest was aroused.
"In media promotion work, you must go into life in order to obtain more materials." In March of this year, Yan Yang Junqi passed the company's professional training and examination, and obtained the certificate of completion. He decided to follow the master to try it out.
"After some careful consideration, Yan Yang Junqi decided to join the bathing industry."
Unlike Yan Yang Junqi's "half-way monk", Zhu Qian, who was born in 1992, came from a medical and nursing background. Based on her observation and experience in her previous work in hospitals and physical examination centers, she realized that home-based care is a major trend.
"Through the bathing aid industry, I hope to bring in-hospital care related things into the homes of the elderly. My family is also a standard aging family, and being a bathing assistant is also for my own benefit." Zhu Qian said that she would often help herself Grandma, grandpa, and great-grandmother took a bath.
investigation
Less than 200 yuan at a time
Chinese Improved Bath Aid
fight professional
In Zhou Na's view, although on-site bathing assistance is an elderly assistance service originated in Japan, it is not completely imitated when it is introduced into China.
Differences in public cultural cognition and basic national conditions require that China's bathing aids must be properly improved.
Now, Lejia Nursing has two sets of bathing equipment, one is a bath bed imported from Japan, and the other is a Chinese-style inflatable bath bed developed by them.
"Many elderly people cannot afford to use expensive equipment for services. However, Chinese-style bathing equipment costs less than 200 yuan per wash, and every family can afford it. In addition, using an inflatable bed can prevent the elderly from lifting and causing damage to the elderly. In my opinion, this optimization is very suitable for the domestic market." Zhou Na said.
Equipment is only one aspect, the key to good service lies in people.
Zhou Na introduced that the company's bath assistants all hold corresponding nursing qualification certificates, and they need to go through a round of practical training before they can work.
"In addition to learning techniques, our training also involves basic first aid knowledge and firefighting knowledge." Zhu Qian told a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily.
Generally, a maximum of three bath assistants are dispatched for a visit to help the bath, and everyone has their own division of labor.
"Now let's turn the old man over and wash his back together..." A bath assistant was in charge of "giving orders" to observe the old man's vital signs and emotions, including some micro-expressions.
A bath assistant is in charge of "chatting with you". Yan Yang Junqi explained that the elderly can easily fall asleep in the bath, and it will be very dangerous if the water enters the nasal cavity unconsciously.
Therefore, during the bathing process, someone will keep chatting with the elderly, and even if there is no response, they must keep talking.
What impressed Zhu Qian the most were those elderly people with Alzheimer's disease. They were reluctant to touch water and would lose their temper at the people around them. To serve such elderly people, bath assistants often needed to come to the door "a second time".
That is, before doing the bathing assistance service, first visit the door to establish a relationship with the elderly, assess the degree of risk, and reduce the insecurity of the elderly.
"We'll play her buddies, neighbors, etc., when we communicate."
significance
Not only to wash the body but also to maintain their decency and dignity
"In March of this year, I pushed my mother to get a haircut, but I was rejected and rejected by 3 barber shops." After a bath, the grandmother's daughter told Yan Yang Junqi that although the haircut was finally completed, she was suffocated. , "Why can't the disabled elderly receive normal services? Why should they be discriminated against? Who doesn't have an elderly person?"
"The beautiful life we have today was created for us by the previous generation and the previous generation." Yan Yang Junqi said tremblingly, "But when they get old, they can't even keep their dignity."
Indeed, in everyday life, the dignity of the elderly is often overlooked.
In the eyes of bath assistants, what they need to do is not only to wash the body of the elderly, but also to maintain their decency and dignity.
Are older people also shy?
In the process of talking with the bath assistant, this topic always seems to be involved intentionally or not.
With Yan Yang Junqi's original imagination, "old people are reluctant to let strangers bathe themselves".
However, on the contrary, due to privacy issues, they will feel more natural in the face of strangers' help.
Zhou Na realized this clearly.
Her first door-to-door service was when her granddaughter placed an order for her 92-year-old grandpa.
Grandpa was paralyzed in bed for more than ten years without taking a bath.
Due to the small space in the room, Zhou Na knelt on the bed and operated for her grandfather the whole time.
This time, it took them nearly two hours to complete the bath aid.
Afterwards, the grandfather's daughter, who watched the whole process, took the initiative to find Zhou Na and said, "Can you help me wash one too?"
It turned out that the 66-year-old aunt had long been unable to take a bath independently because of her lumbar muscle strain from serving her father for a long time.
"When I heard that my mother also wanted to receive a bathing assistance service, my daughter clearly opposed it." At this time, the aunt said: "Don't worry about my daughter, I will sign with you myself."
Zhou Na said that she has encountered many cases like this later. "Children always use their own thinking to make decisions for the elderly. They don't understand why they should pay for others to help bathe. But in fact, many elderly people are reluctant to let The reason why the children help with the bath is that they are very tired from work every day and can't bear the trouble, and more importantly, the elderly also love face.
According to the main data of the seventh national census, my country's population aged 60 and above is 264.02 million, accounting for 18.70%.
With the further deepening of population aging, the number of disabled elderly families is also increasing year by year.
A demographic study by Peking University shows that by 2030, the number of disabled elderly people in my country will exceed 77 million.
On the way home after the bath assistance, Yan Yang Junqi kept thinking, "I am a post-90s generation, and my friends and family around me are asking: What are you doing so young? Do you have to do this 'housekeeping'? I think, we We all grow old one day, and growing old cleanly and dignifiedly is the greatest respect for ourselves.”
Text / reporter Wang Jingyi
Coordinator/Lin Yan Zhang Bin