When Gong Zengliang was visiting the Care Building of Taikang Community Yan Garden, the manager of skilled nursing floor chatted with him about her feelings, she said: “we can physically take good care of these elderly people, who are in the last stage of their life. But most of the time, they can only sit or lie quietly doing nothing. We know their needs are there, but there is little we can do for them other than personal care.” Gong Zengliang was very touched by the feelings of the manager and the weather-beaten eyes of the elderly that shone with humanity during the visit, and he began to look for a special plan for these elderly people.
Occasionally, Namaste Care entered the field of vision of Taikang Communities, and has started a relationship with the elderly in China since then. After being introduced to the concepts and practices of Namaste Care, the care team immediately embraced it, and can’t wait to try it in their own care units. After a brief but fruitful pilot, we quickly rolled out the Namaste Care in the memory care floors and skilled nursing floors of Taikang Community’s 12 CCRC campuses across the country.
We designed the decoration plan of Taikang Community’s Namaste Care Room, as well as the daily schedule of its service, thanks to on Ms. Joyce Simard’s monograph “The End-of-Life Namaste Care Program for People with Dementia” and other publicly available documents. While drawing on international experience, we actively integrates Chinese cultural features, such as traditional music and local food, into Namaste Care.
We also organized sharing sessions on their practice of Namaste Care in the Taikang Communities across the country. Each team shared their experience and innovations in practicing Namaste Care, and learned from each other. The happiness and glowing eyes of the residents in the videos shared by our care partners, gave us a great sense of satisfaction and achievement.
Family members of the residents also eagerly embrace the concept of Namaste Care. One daughter, who took part in the Namaste care and gave her mother a hand massage, said excitedly, “The aroma of the essential oil is conveyed to my mother through gentle skin touch, and I can feel my mother’s enjoyment and relaxation. Although she can’t express it in words, I believe she has received my love!”
在一次调研泰康之家燕园护理公寓的时候，专业护理区的主管跟龚增良聊起了自己的感受，她说：“对于这些快走到生命尽头的老人，我们在生活上把他们照顾的很好。但是他们每天都只能是这么静静地坐着或者躺着。我们知道他们的需求就在那儿，但是除了生活照护，不知道如何再给他们做点什么”。主管的困惑，以及在实地走访的过程中，哪些饱经风霜而又闪耀着人性光芒的眼睛，让龚增良深受触动，他开始寻找适合这部分老人的服务方案。
