Taiwan’s foreign care givers are ‘angels of mercy’ on the frontline of Taiwan’s aging society, but this does not mean calls for improvements to their circumstances should be ignored.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/10/20
By: Timothy Ferry, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Credit: CNA

The rise in the number of elderly in Taiwan is often broadly couched as a demographic and economic challenge. But for the millions of families struggling to care for frail and disabled family members, the struggle is all too personal. Confucian cultural values of “filial piety” forbid the placement of elders in retirement homes or assisted-living facilities, which in any case are often financially out of reach. State-sponsored nursing homes are last resorts for the desperate.

Yet keeping a disabled elder at home is a burden for most families, with many either stressed by a lack of financial resources with which to care for the aging relative, or the lack of time, or more often both. The passage of the Long-term Care Act 2.0 has expanded the range of services available for such families, including community care centers and subsidized home healthcare.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) provides subsidies of NT$180 (US$5.80) per hour for up to 25 hours per month for the elderly (and other groups, including the mentally disabled and disadvantaged aboriginals) with mild disability, 50 hours for those with moderate disability, and 90 hours for severe disability. The range of disability is assessed by professional social workers dispatched by the ministry at the request of the family. Services provided included basic physical care such as bathing, toileting, dressing, etc., as well as helping elders visit medical facilities and do shopping.    [FULL  STORY]