In cooperation with We Care Development Association(社團法人台灣關愛發展協會), Hsinchu County Government gave away smartwatches to 100 solitary elderly residents by making use of the earnings from the public welfare lottery. On May 31st, the county government specially held a “watch giving ceremony” at the lobby of Hsinchu County Hall.
Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun said that Hsinchu County has a vast area. Those remote townships are especially short of resources and social workers. Therefore, if smartwatches can provide telecare services, more solitary elderly residents can benefit greatly. Magistrate Chiu also mentioned that the quality of base station signals is the key to the practice of these innovative products and services. Since the inauguration of Magistrate Chiu, the budget of social welfare has increased from $1.92 billion to over $2.7 billion. In addition, innovative technology has been introduced into the services for solitary elderly residents. The county government hopes to create a livable environment where both the elderly and their working children can be free from worries.
Hsinchu County Government Social Affairs Department indicated that President of We Care Development Association(社團法人台灣關愛發展協會), Li Chao-qun, has integrated various resources to provide 100 solitary elderly residents with smartwatches for free. These smartwatches can be used to enhance home safety, carry out health consultations, and track the elderly in need. To date, 40 elderly people has benefited from the telecare service, and the number of users is estimated to increase to about 100 by the end of this year.
Grandpa Liu, one of the participants of the watch giving ceremony, lives alone in Qionglin Township. His son died early, and his wife passed away last year. He now lives only on a monthly subsidy. Through the smartwatch, he can check his blood pressure and heart rate by himself. If any problem occurs, he can contact the nurses in the service center by pressing a red button. He felt really happy to have this smartwatch.
Another participant, Grandma Liu, who has no child, lives alone in Meihua Village, Jianshi Township. She has long suffered from gout and high blood pressure, so she is worried that no one can help her in time when an accident happens. Now, the smartwatch offers emergency and health consultation services, which make her much more relieved.
President Li Chao-qun showed that Hsinchu County is the second in Taiwan after Penghu County to care for solitary elderly residents with smartwatches. The smart device can not only monitor the health condition of the seniors but inform medical institutions of any emergency. Besides, the warm greetings from the nurse via the phone make those solitary elderly residents even more relieved.