President Ma Ying-jeou spoke on Sunday about a long-term care system, which he said can enable seniors to live out their final years in dignity.
The president was speaking at the health ministry’s first annual Golden Community Care Stations Awards. The awards honor outstanding city and county governments, civic groups, and community volunteers in their efforts to provide services to senior citizens.
In his speech, President Ma said that there are currently more than 2,400 “community care stations” in Taiwan providing services to seniors. He said those stations do things like deliver meals, make calls to senior citizens, conduct health checks, offer free vaccinations and health insurance assistance, and help with things like false teeth and caring for those with Alzheimer’s.
Ma said that the next step for the government is offering complete long-term care in order to bring dignity and happiness to seniors in their later years. He said that the Cabinet has already passed a law to provide funding for this sort of care, but that it has yet to pass in the legislature.