2015年CRI 北京215家养老院将从公办转为民营

 

The pilot program aims to reform the senior-care sector¹ and boost the role of family and community care.

The plan will see some seniors' care centers remain state owned, but run by non-governmental organizations or individuals, while others will be completely privately² owned and operated.

Li Hongbing, Deputy Director of Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau, says the reforms should help to redistribute resources, allowing more elderly people to enjoy proper services in care centers.

"The move aims to let nursing homes return to their original nature, playing a role as public service institution. We hope it may allow the society to contribute more in this industry, and have more professional staff providing professional services."

After the changes, local governments will not charge rents to private nursing homes, helping³ to keep costs low for elderly residents and letting operators focus on providing better services.

Meantime, state-owned public care centers will concentrate on taking care of aged⁴ people with special needs, like those who are disabled and those over the age of 70 who do not have a child to assist them in their care.

However, there are problems in current private care-homes and most Chinese seniors are not satisfied with prices.

China has about 5.5 million beds in nursing homes nationwide. That's about 26 beds per 1,000 people, however, 48 percent of the beds are empty.

Wu Yushao with the national office on aging points out that there is a structural⁵ problem in China's senior-care industry.

"Most of the care centers in the market are either too luxurious⁶, or too simple and crude. There are few intermediate-level nursing homes out there with proper facilities and affordable⁷ prices which most people need. This is why a large number of elderly now have unmet demands."

The government is working on other plans to help private nursing homes develop and better meet the demands of seniors.

Professor Lu Jiehua with Peking University also says since 90 percent of the elderly in China still choose to depend on their families or the communities, but this is an area that's also in need of improvement.

"When it comes to future development concerning Chinese people's traditional habits, how to improve home care and community care may be more important for us. For instance, Beijing has proposed the idea to establish community reception centers and caring services inside families. These are the next step of reform, which may be more difficult. "

Over 210 million people on the Chinese mainland were over 60 years old as of the end of last year, with nearly 40 million unable to care for themselves. By 2050, those aged over 60 are expected to account for 35 percent of nation's population.

For CRI, I'm Niu Honglin.

1 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

2 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

5 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。