During a heatwave, a 100-year-old woman living alone in the Xinchang Residential Area of Ganguan Road Street, Putuo District, fell at home. After calling a volunteer, a swift chain of support was activated, relying on the local community elderly service station. From emergency rescue and hospital transport to contacting relatives and post-discharge care, the station provided a strong safety net for the elderly with its rapid response and professional support. This is a snapshot of Shanghai's ongoing efforts to expand its community-based, embedded elderly care network.
According to the "Shanghai Home-Based Elderly Service Station Setup Guidelines," the city has built over 1,300 such stations. Included in the municipal government's practical projects for the people, 200 new stations were planned for this year, with 124 already completed. As the most immediate "terminal unit" in the three-tier elderly care system, what role do these community stations play? How are they bringing elderly care services closer to residents?
Physical Renovation is Just the First Step
"Once the elderly experience our professional services, they rarely go back to their former domestic helpers," said Dai Xin, head of the "Neighborhood Hub" elderly service station in the Huasan Residential Area, Huayang Road Street, Changning District, with confidence. This confidence stems from the station's deep commitment to service quality. The Huasan area has 42% of residents aged 60 or above. In 2020, the community allocated over 300 square meters to build the "Neighborhood Hub" station, entrusting its operation to a third-party agency, "Fuyuan." Dai Xin, from this third party, also serves as the director of the Huayang Road Street Comprehensive Elderly Service Center and the station's head. The three on-site staff—a rehabilitation therapist, an elderly care advisor, and a community administrator—all come from the third-party agency.
Huayang Road Street already has two comprehensive elderly service centers, so why set up a station at the community level? "This is an extension of one-stop service," explained Xu Xiaomeng, section chief of Community Elderly Care Management at the Changning District Elderly Service Development Center. Using the comprehensive centers as a "base camp," services are pushed down to stations at residents' doorsteps. The professional team at the center can support multiple smaller stations, allowing for shared labor costs.
The Xinchang Residential Area station has explored a different model, using the station as a platform to build a service network involving "property management, residents' committees, volunteers, and professional institutions." As one of the most aging sub-districts in Shanghai, Ganguan Road Street has 52.45% of its registered residents aged 60 or above. While not the highest, Xinchang's rate is 49.6%. The street utilized existing community space, upgrading a small, old property management office at the base of a residential building into a "one-stop" elderly service station earlier this year. "Physical renovation is just the first step; the key is empowerment," said Cui Jie, deputy director of the Community Service Office at Ganguan Road Street. The Xinchang area already had a star volunteer team, but providing professional services required more than just volunteers and the residents' committee. The street brought in a third-party agency, "Fushoukang," which not only brought functions like emergency assistance, health monitoring, meal delivery, bathing assistance, rehabilitation care, and convenience services directly to doorsteps but also infused professional strength into the volunteer team, creating a dual shield of "warmth plus professionalism."
The incident involving the 100-year-old Ms. Gao living alone is a vivid example. On that day, she fell at home and immediately called the volunteer she knew best. The volunteer rushed over but, before lifting her, phoned the service station. The station quickly activated its emergency response mechanism, dispatching a professional nurse to assess the situation on-site. The nurse found Ms. Gao had extremely high blood pressure and was showing signs of confusion, recommending immediate hospital transfer. The team coordinated quickly, called an ambulance, and safely escorted her to the hospital. Thanks to the prompt medical attention, Ms. Gao was out of danger. The volunteer team later reflected: "If we had acted on pure passion and bravery, trying to carry her without professional judgment, we could have caused secondary injury or even missed the critical window for rescue. The timely intervention of professionals saved the day."
In Shanghai's three-tier elderly care network, the district level has management platforms, the sub-district level has comprehensive centers, and the service stations are the most basic "nerve endings." As forward outposts, they extend the service reach to the residential and village level. Among the city's over 1,000 stations, the Huasan and Xinchang stations are representative. Their operational models differ, but both achieve the same goal: empowering community stations through third-party professional agencies, bridging the "last mile" of professional service.
Trust Links Supply and Demand
Once the "Elderly Service Station" sign goes up, it becomes a new daily destination for senior residents. For the teams stationed there, this small space represents daily companionship and, more importantly, trust built over time. During an interview at the Huasan station, Dai Xin received a call from the son of a 93-year-old man. "Director Dai, the air conditioning pipe at home is broken. Can you help find someone to fix it?" Repairs are not on the station's service list, but Dai Xin didn't refuse, recommending a plumber who quickly solved the problem. "When in trouble, the first people residents think of are us," Dai noted. This trust began with a medical escort service. The elderly man lived on the fourth floor and couldn't go down for medical visits. The station borrowed a stair climber to help them out, solving the problem. After this experience, the son gained a new appreciation for the station, learned about their "home bed" service, terminated his former domestic help contract, and subscribed to this service instead. The station assigned a professional caregiver to bring professional care from nursing homes directly to the elderly man's home, a service that has been ongoing for three years, much to the satisfaction of the family. "The elderly have many individual needs, but when a stranger approaches them, they fear being cheated. We are rooted here, we meet them every day, so they are more receptive to our services," said Dai Xin.
A similar story unfolded in Hongkou District. Last August, a new service station officially opened in the Lingxin Residential Area, Guangzhong Road Street. The street brought in a third-party agency, "Kang'ershous," to run it. The station offers daily scheduled activities and courses, attracting many seniors. Its smart aging demonstration room, featuring smart folding beds, AI emergency call buttons, smart adjustable sinks, and smart electric cabinets, impressed the residents, who quickly became familiar with the staff. Mr. Zhang, a retired Chinese teacher, visits the station every time he goes downstairs: "You chat with me every day, like my daughter. I want to give you a banner." Station head Dong Liying smiled and waved off the suggestion. The banner represents the trust of the elderly, making the station a credible entry point that fosters acceptance of professional services. Being rooted in the community allows the station to not only provide information, taxi assistance, and other help but also to introduce services like post-surgery rehabilitation and home care, allowing residents to choose flexibly based on their actual needs.
At the Xinchang station, the nearly 100-square-meter space features an aging-friendly renovation "showroom" with eight functional areas like an entryway, living room, and bedroom, identical in layout to the apartments upstairs. Seeing the showroom repeatedly piqued residents' interest. "We thought it would be troublesome to smash the toilet and bathtub, but after seeing the showroom, we decided to give it a try," said resident Chen Yumei, who renovated her kitchen and bathroom last month. "It's both beautiful and safe." An elderly neighbor who came to see it was full of praise, asking which supplier she used. Ms. Chen pointed: "The showroom is right in our community's service station." "Professional agencies have experienced teams and the right products and services, but it's hard to break into the market on brand name alone. The elderly trust people, not brands. Only through this kind of silent, persistent service, truly taking root in the community, can you enter their hearts," said Cui Jie. He has observed a pattern: after a professional team moves into a station, the first six months to a year are often challenging, but once they get through that, they are generally well-established. "The reason is simple. Once you build trust with the residents, they naturally accept the services and products you offer."
Tightening the "Forward Outpost" of Grassroots Care
Wu Ruijun, a municipal government counselor and executive director of the East China Normal University Institute for Aging Studies, believes that for the elderly population, a coordinated "home-community-facility" care network must be built from a governance perspective, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the community as a care hub. The service station, as a grassroots care "forward outpost," is a key link in this network. Dai Xin sees this firsthand. Based on the trust the elderly have in the station, "Neighborhood Hub" not only provides micro-services like day care, meals, bathing, post-surgery rehabilitation, and health guidance on-site but also delivers professional care services like home beds and home care directly into seniors' homes.
Once trust is established, the boundaries of service expand. Investigative reporting found that well-functioning stations are not limited to serving their own residential area but also extend professional services to surrounding communities. The Lingxin station is a case in point, taking its activities on a tour to surrounding communities with great success. "Guangzhong Road Street has 25 residents' committees, and almost all have invited them to hold events, allowing professional services to enter more communities," said Yang Tianhang, deputy director of the street's service office. The opening of community doors also allows more high-quality assistive device rental products to reach seniors. Fan Zhuojun, head of the Xinchang station, recounted that an 80-year-old man, bedridden after multiple falls, was about to buy a 10,000 yuan nursing bed. The station suggested renting instead: "750 yuan a month, including follow-up service." After seeing the bed at the station, the family decided to rent.
"After taking root in the community, we found a significant gap between the elderly's actual needs and our initial assumptions," said Yang Tianhang. The street had planned to create a small showcase in the community for the latest smart aging devices. But in practice, the elderly's response to smart products was lukewarm, while their demand for aging-friendly renovations was much more urgent. The station adjusted its focus to aging-friendly renovations and continuously updates its products based on feedback. Yang explained that through feedback from various stations, Guangzhong Road Street systematically compiles the needs of service recipients and local resources, creating a "Needs Matching List" so that seniors can access professional services like housekeeping, medical escorts, and gas safety checks without leaving their familiar neighborhoods.
Across the city, stations are exploring unique paths tailored to local conditions. Changning District currently has 26 stations, with 13 operated by third parties, 7 managed by residents' committees, and 4 run directly by the sub-district. The district is deploying 20 new stations this year, with 10 already built. It encourages the "one station, one feature" model, leveraging local resources to offer specialized services for cognitive impairment, "property + elderly care," eco-therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, medication delivery and medical escorts, and exercise-based wellness, precisely meeting the diverse needs of the elderly. Ganguan Road Street in Putuo District is weaving a "caring network" across its communities. Of its 20 residential areas, 10 stations have been built, each with unique features. For example, the Zhangjiaxiang station works closely with the community health center and Tongji Hospital experts to create custom low-sugar, low-fat meals for the elderly, while also providing eight categories of 30 services, including daily care, bathing, rehabilitation guidance, and emergency aid, delivering services precisely to homes. "We plan to add two more stations next year, and the Huangling station is also scheduled for a complete renovation." Dinghai Road Street in Yangpu District focuses on the high-frequency daily needs of the elderly, actively integrating social resources to add convenience services like haircuts and small repairs at its stations, allowing seniors to access these services right outside their homes.
Services available just downstairs, warmth encountered right outside the door. These community elderly service stations are gradually evolving into "hub stations" for the precise delivery of elderly care and the "capillaries" of community-based embedded care. They respond to the most genuine needs of the elderly in their own unique ways, extending the reach of services to the "nerve endings" of the family, making quality aging accessible for all.