By Kelly Connelly
Mission to Asia
China looks to Ontario’s Baycrest for best practices in seniors’ care
Ontario
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he world’s most populous country has asked Ontario’s leading academic health sciences centre in the care of aging adults to help it develop a best practices care model for its rapidly aging population. With over 1.3 billion people, China is grappling with a demographic time bomb that other countries around the world are also facing. The number of Chinese 60 and older is projected to reach 200 million in the next few years. By 2025, one in five people who live in urban areas will be seniors. After surveying the different seniors’ healthcare models around the world, Chinese officials have landed on Ontario’s doorstep and begun discussions with Baycrest to explore how the Toronto-based facility can help China develop the first dedicated health system for seniors.
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“Baycrest is excited by this extraordinary opportunity to do business with China and share our leading edge knowledge and expertise in seniors’ care,” said Dr. William Reichman, Baycrest’s president and CEO. The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation’s BIO Asia mission paved the way for the Baycrest-Beijing discussions about opportunities to develop a seniors’ hospital. This November, Baycrest will cohost a landmark symposium in Beijing with the Chinese Enterprise Hospital Association to share Ontario best practices in seniors’ care with Chinese government officials, and leaders of healthcare organizations and associations in China. “Based on the success of our 2010 BIO Asia mission, Ontario has been work-
ing with Chinese organizations to build China’s first state of the art hospital for seniors,” said Minister of Research and Innovation Glen Murray. “China doesn’t yet have the advanced infrastructure required for geriatric care, and Ontario is leading the way; our expertise in healthcare policy, aging care delivery, and technologies will be the basis for productive partnerships in the coming decades.” Ontario and Beijing have each contributed $200,000 to fund a feasibility study for the development of a seniorsfocused facility. The building is already constructed in Beijing’s most populated district Chaoyang, which has 3.2 million permanent residents. Baycrest’s executive team leaders were in China in April to visit with health officials and tour the area. Chinese officials have also visited Baycrest.
