Nanyang's first hospice care center is born

Nanyang's first ever hospice dedicated to the palliative care of senior citizens with chronic and terminal illness opened in the Henan province city on Aug 27.

The Nanyang Volunteer Center for Senior's Emotional Comfort was initiated by Hui Changpo, and a team of experienced community volunteers from all walks of life.

Hospice care caters to the emotional needs of terminally ill patients so that their journey into afterlife is made as comfortable as possible. The first modern hospice was established in the United Kingdom in 1967, its practice seeing rapid growth in the West ever since. The hospice movement in China is still in its preliminary phase however, with the National Health and Family Planning Commission only publishing operational requirements for hospice care centers this January.

The founding members of the Nanyang Volunteer Center for Senior's Emotional Comfort gather at the opening ceremony held on Aug 27. [Photo/Nanyang Evening News]

"Confronted with death, everyone is inevitably caught in unspeakable fear and sorrow," Hui says, a former winner of the Nanyang Role Model Award. "We want to bring them that last bit of sunshine in life by providing voluntary hospice care during what can be a difficult time for all involved."

As a voluntary social worker, Hui has spent many years visiting the elderly in nursing homes, bringing them daily necessities such as rice, cooking oil and eggs. "As time goes by, I gradually realized that what they truly need is not material things but love and care. In their last days, they yearn for nothing but close company and emotional comfort," Hui says.

"On their deathbeds, they desire others' help to realize unfulfilled wishes, things as simple as meeting their grandson, a reunion with a friend or to travel with the family," Hui adds, recollecting his acquaintance with a terminally ill woman last year. She requested for him to find her only relative, a nephew long out of touch. After a week's research and enquiries, Hui managed to locate the nephew in a remote village, enabling the two to reunite before she passed away.

Hui Changpo, a dedicated volunteer and winner of the Nanyang Role Model Award, visits an elderly lady at the center. [Photo/ Nanyang Evening News]

Dealing with similar situations time and again, the 45-year-old Hui finally made up his mind to build a hospice care center, though this task seemed formidable in China, where in traditional culture, the mere mention of death is a taboo subject.

"Hospice care is a brilliant charity project, but it does arouse controversy and can cause misunderstandings," says Wang Jian, a government official from Nanyang's Wolong district and one of Hui's supporters in building the center. "Against all odds, Hui made it. I really admire his efforts!"

Born in Lidian town, Sheqi county, Hui has been doing charity work for six years, devoting most of his time and energy to helping the elderly and the disabled. He founded a volunteer center under the name of the Loving Heart Commune (Aixin Gongshe) in 2014. The center has more than 80 regular members and has organized over 60 large-scale volunteer service activities.

Volunteer care workers in Nanyang provide emotional comfort, care and understanding to elderly citizens with chronic and terminal illnesses. [Photo/Nanyang Evening News]