Taipei’s first “home visit bathing van” was launched yesterday by the Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in an effort to address problems faced by physically disadvantaged and bedridden people during bathing.
The van is equipped with one portable plastic bathtub and another inflatable one. The latter is designed to sit on top of a healthcare bed, allowing people with limited mobility to bathe, even if their homes are not large enough to accommodate a traditional tub.
The vehicle costs about NT$2 million (US$66,500) and was purchased and donated by the Shin Kong Life Foundation using money it earned from entry fees to a charitable stair-climbing competition titled “Run for an Age-Friendly Environment” in Taipei on April 19.
The foundation donated a similar van to New Taipei City’s Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, which is expected put its vehicle into operation later this week.
Tang Chieh-lang (湯傑郎), secretary of Shin Kong Life Insurance’s president’s office, is in charge of the bathing service program.
Tang said there are currently five similar vans in the nation: three owned by Chiayi City’s St Martin De Porres Hospital, a fourth owned by Hualien County’s A Kernel of Wheat Foundation and a fifth owned by Greater Kaohsiung’s Hung An Social Welfare Charitable Foundation.
“However, only the two vans donated to Shin Kong Hospital and Far Eastern Memorial Hospital are outfitted with an inflatable bathtub, which is specially designed to suit smaller residences,” Tang said.
Hsu Chu-jung (徐菊蓉), superintendent of Shin Kong Hospital’s Department of Nursing, said the service would be available to people who are unable to perform basic self-care tasks and who lived within 30 minutes drive of the hospital.
“During the trial period, we hope to bring the service every month to at least five to 10 people with disabilities. Each bathing session is to last about an hour and it would be carried out by one registered nurse and two qualified nursing assistants,” Hsu said.
Hsu added that people in low-income families can use the service without charge, while others would be charged NT$1,000 per session.
“We are hoping the bathing service will help bedridden patients regain the dignity they deserve,” she said.
Shin Kong Hospital’s Department of Family Medicine physician Chiang Po-hsin (江柏欣) said that bathing in a tub is a vastly different experience from a sponge bath.
“A tub can help people relax their muscles and improve their blood circulation, while a sponge bath can make them more susceptible to catching a cold,” Chiang said.
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