Smart nursing center in Tibetan county tends to elderly

LHASA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- To celebrate China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival that fell on Tuesday this year, old people at a nursing home in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region enjoyed Tibetan-style moon cakes while watching a performance.

"The filling of the moon cakes is Tibetan quark cheese. I love their delicious sweet-and-sour taste," said Kardzo, 72, who is among more than 100 elders at the smart nursing center in Maizhokunggar County, the city of Lhasa.

However, when he first got there at the end of last year, his early experience was not that sweet. "I didn't know any of the people here, as we come from different villages," Kardzo said.

Gradually, he fell in love with life there thanks to the convenience and excellent services at the smart nursing center supported by advanced technology.

This year, eight intelligent nursing beds were put into service, with equipment that can monitor body temperature, blood pressure and heart rate.

"As the old people here spend a long time in bed, nurses can easily get the real-time data about their health sent through the monitoring system," said Tsewang Namgyai, director of the center.

The center organizes all kinds of activities during every festival or holiday to enrich the lives of the elderly, Namgyai added.

Chonyi Sangmo has been a carer at the center for five years and is very familiar with the elders' health conditions and habits.

"Here, we take care of old people around the clock. We are with them all the time and talk a lot with them," she said.

"We don't have to worry about food, clothes or housing here, and the nurses treat us just like our children do," according to Kardzo.

There are more than 4,470 people above the age of 60 in Maizhokunggar, accounting for about 9 percent of the population of the county that is a pioneer in exploring smart nursing home services in Lhasa, according to local authorities.

China has invested nearly 3 billion yuan (about 464 million U.S. dollars) in establishing 80 centralized nursing centers in Tibet. The extremely poor willing to live there are accepted.

Kardzo has stayed at the nursing home for nearly a year.

"The center is like a new home to me. I hope I can live long and spend many more Mid-Autumn Festivals here," he said.