AIC Chairman Dr Jennifer Lee together with CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore) Mr Low Swee Seh, officiated the launch of Tzu Chi Home Care Services with Senior Minister of State Dr Amy Khor and Member of Parliament Mr Sam Tan (pictured from left to right). (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
Madam Wang is an 88-year-old stroke patient who relies on her son Mr Wang, himself already a sexagenarian, to take care of all her needs. For Mr Wang, life after retirement is a daily routine of caring for his mother in their one-bedroom Bukit Merah View flat.
In 2012, Mr Wang was diagnosed with hypertension at the Tzu Chi Free Clinic located in his neighbourhood. During their follow up care, the medical team discovered that he often missed regular meals and did not have enough rest due to having to care for his mother. He also could not leave her alone at home and turn up for his own medical appointments. In view of this, the Tzu Chi Home Care Services team now schedule monthly visits to his home where apart from checking blood pressure and dispensing medicine for Mr Wang, they also bring along medicine for Madam Wang and assist in changing her nasogastric tube.
As the population in Singapore greys, the demand for medical home care services is expected to increase steadily. According to figures released by AIC, an organization under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health, there are now more than 7,000 people receiving medical home care services and this figure is expected to increase by 10% every year.
With many years of experience in overseas medical missions, local outpatient and medical house calls, finally on 1 April 2014, Tzu Chi launched its home care services targeted at the poor and sick who need medical home care. A collaboration with the AIC, the Tzu Chi Home Care Services initiative plans to provide some 320 aid recipients referred by the AIC in the western part of Singapore with free medical home care over a span of three years. As of November 2014, there are already 51 families receiving medical home care and this has exceeded the second quarter’s projection.
On 5 November 2014, the Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore) held an event at the Tzu Chi Free Clinic to announce the launch of its medical home care services. Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Manpower; Mr Sam Tan, Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office & Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth; Dr Jennifer Lee, Chairman of the AIC and CEO of Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore), Mr Low Swee Seh, were present. This important milestone in Tzu Chi’s medical mission was also witnessed by more than 80 VIPs and media representatives.
At the Tzu Chi Free Clinic that day, in attendance were more than 80 VIPS and media representatives who had come to support the launch of Tzu Chi’s medical home care services initiative. (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
In her speech, Guest of Honour Dr Amy Khor also expressed how Tzu Chi’s launch of home care services is timely given the growing demand for community-based care. (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
Going to the Aid of Those Who Need Medical Care
The two Tzu Chi free clinics situated at Redhill and Jurong East provide a host of services including health checkups, internal medicine, TCM, dentistry and ophthalmologic services and the accumulated number of patient visits stands at more than 50,000. Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) members made up of physicians, registered nurses and therapists who volunteer on shifts to provide home-based medical care to needy cases. These TIMA members are no stranger to cleaning the wounds of patients who have problems with mobility, and rendering support and medical care for dementia patients living alone.
Seeing the need for home-based medical care, Tzu Chi Foundation (Singapore) partnered with AIC and after ensuring that it had adequate facilities and medical manpower available, officially launched the Tzu Chi Home Care Services initiative. CEO Mr Low Swee Seh commented that it was Tzu Chi’s hope that every corner of Singapore would benefit from the availability of such services-- when a patient cannot access medical care on his own, Tzu Chi will reach out and render the necessary aid directly to him.
In her speech, Dr Amy Khor also expressed how Tzu Chi’s launch of home care services is timely given the growing demand for community-based care. The Ministry of Health and the AIC are working on expanding home care towards a target capacity for 10,000 patients in home-based healthcare services. She hoped that by getting providers like Tzu Chi to render more diverse and readily available home care services, more citizens can look forward to growing old in their own communities.
CEO Mr Low Swee Seh commented that when a patient cannot access medical care on his own, Tzu Chi will reach out and render the necessary aid directly to him. (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
AIC spokesperson Dr Irwin Chung expressed that they were touched by the sincere way in which Tzu Chi’s multidisciplinary team provides holistic care to those who need it. (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
Gathering the Power of Many to Heal Hearts and Ailments
The AIC has set up one-stop stations at every hospital where patients are assigned to mid and long-term care providers according to their places of residence and their needs, that they can receive medical care and follow up in their own communities hence decreasing the frequency of hospital visits.
The AIC also assists interested providers in expanding their home care services and Tzu Chi is the fifteenth such volunteer organization to work with them. The spokesperson for AIC described Tzu Chi’s assistance as one that “starts with the heart.” With a good mix of professionals of various competencies, Tzu Chi’s holistic approach delivers quality, compassionate care that strives to meet the needs of the elderly.
In October 2012, AIC representatives paid a visit to Master Cheng Yen in Hualien, accompanied by Tzu Chi Singapore members. They also discussed medical home care with the Tzu Chi hospital there. In addition, at the launch of Tzu Chi’s home care services, about 10 representative from AIC turned up to give their well-wishes.
Home care services is an important aspect of holistic medical care and it is a natural extension of the services provided by Tzu Chi’s two free clinics. Tzu Chi’s medical consultant, Dr Edwin Lim, who has been actively driving Tzu Chi’s home care services, feels that home visits have allowed the medical team to better understand the backgrounds and living environments of patients and their families, that they can not only heal the ailments of their patients, but also provide comfort to them as well as their families.
He further reveals that some patients have even become Tzu Chi volunteers when their condition improves. They in turn also help their neighbours − if they discover that their neighbours need help, they will bring them to seek medical attention at the Tzu Chi clinics. Not only do the patients themselves benefit, Dr Lim puts it across best when he says, “As we see more of such (home care) cases, we ourselves develop compassion; we see that we are (so) blessed and fortunate (compared to the patients). Our attitude and the way we (work) also change, because we really feel for the (patients).”
Tzu Chi’s Dr Edwin Lim (first from left) accompanies Dr Amy Khor and Dr Jennifer Lee to the Bukit Merah View flat for a visit to home care service beneficiary Madam Wang. (Photo by Susan Ong Soh Chin)
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