Party building leads the development of geriatric medicine, and academic innovation safeguards the health of the elderly

Cao Feng, executive vice president of the Chinese Geriatrics Society

Dear Party members:

Hello, everyone!

In accordance with the requirements of the first topic of Party building and the arrangements of the president's office meeting, today I will study Party building knowledge together with all of you.

Professor Fan Li, the founding president, named the society "China", and "old age" is the goal we are dedicated to striving for.

At present, population aging has become an important national condition in the new era. By the end of 2025, the population aged 60 and above in China had reached 323 million, accounting for 23% of the total population, among which the population aged 65 and above was 224 million. Actively responding to population aging is a major national development strategy. Geriatrics, as a core discipline for safeguarding the life and health of the elderly and improving their quality of life, is an important part of the construction of a Healthy China.

As medical Party members in the field of geriatrics, we are not only practitioners of medical and health care work but also pioneers in providing services that benefit the people. Today, I would like to exchange and learn with all of you on the topic of "Party Building Leading the Development of Geriatric Medicine, Academic Innovation Safeguarding the Health of the Elderly".

First, take Party building as the root and anchor the original aspiration and direction of geriatric medicine development

Doctors have benevolent hearts and follow the Party. Adhering to the people-first view of political achievements, the medical and health care industry is a public welfare and people-oriented undertaking. Party building leading the development of disciplines is the fundamental guarantee. We have always adhered to the principle of Party building leading the society and regarded Party building as the "top priority" of the president's office meeting. During the "Party Flag Leading the Practice of Original Aspiration, Warm Sunshine on the Medical Path" event, the Burn and Trauma Branch initiated the "Chronic Wound Rescue Project for Elderly People Living Alone", specially inviting President Fu Xiaobing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, to serve as an advisor. It gathered the core forces of wound repair from over ten well-known domestic medical institutions to build a multi-party collaborative public welfare model of "Party building leadership - professional support - resource coordination - social mobilization". It created a miracle in wound repair. The project started in southern Anhui, was carried over in Hefei, and then reached Nanchang. It has become a pilot project for the high-quality development of public welfare undertakings led by the Party building of the society.

The elderly patient group is special. Most of them suffer from multiple chronic diseases, have declining physical functions, difficult-to-heal wounds, and fragile psychological states. They have higher requirements for the warmth, accuracy and breadth of medical services. We always keep in mind that geriatric medicine is not only a technical job to save lives and treat diseases, but also a political job to warm the elderly and safeguard people's livelihood. We should lead the blue of medical care with the red of Party building and build a solid defense line for the health protection of the elderly.

Second, with innovation as the wing, activate the internal driving force of the geriatrics discipline

The original aspiration lies in persistence, and development lies in innovation. As medical Party members, we adhere to a realistic and pragmatic view of political achievements, deeply integrating Party building learning with academic research, promoting scientific research through Party building and enhancing services through scientific research.

In terms of scientific research and innovation, relying on the National Clinical Research Center, we have established a clinical database and biobank of 690,000 elderly inpatients, released the largest multi-center clinical report on geriatric diseases among the domestic population, and were the first to propose a ten-year disease spectrum of comorbidities in the elderly. We have also achieved internationally leading breakthroughs in core technologies such as multimodal molecular imaging.

In terms of academic exchanges and popular science, we have continuously held national-level science and technology innovation conferences and widely carried out the "Party Building + Popular Science Free Clinic" activities. In June 2026, the event was held in Xinye County, Henan Province. A multi-disciplinary expert team formed a vanguard team of Party members to carry out free medical consultations for the public. A total of over 230 people were served. At the same time, the elderly health lecture Hall attracted about 850 people to listen on the spot. The activity closely adheres to the requirements of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for establishing and practicing a correct view of political achievements, takes Party building leadership as the core handle, and promotes the downward flow of high-quality medical resources to the grassroots level.

We have always adhered to the belief that academic innovation is not just empty talk on paper, but a solid foundation for safeguarding the health of the elderly. Only by constantly improving and innovating can the discipline of geriatrics achieve high-quality development and meet the health needs of the elderly in the new era.

Third, the Party flag leads the medical field, delving deeply into geriatric medicine and focusing on benefiting the people

A Party member is like a banner. On the front line of clinical practice, we adhere to the people-oriented principle, respect the physical and mental characteristics of elderly patients, and balance disease treatment with psychological comfort, medical rescue with humanistic care, making the cold medical technology full of warmth. In the process of discipline construction, Party members and key personnel take the lead in guiding and helping others to build a responsible geriatric medicine team.

In recent years, we have actively carried out the "10,000-Mile Journey for Elderly Medical Workers at the Grassroots Level", delving into border and grassroots areas such as Yunnan and Gansu to conduct bilingual science popularization, chronic disease screening and targeted assistance, and establishing a long-term mobile mechanism. Since 2026, we have coordinated 19 provinces and municipalities across the country to carry out dozens of activities benefiting the people in four categories: science popularization, free medical consultation, training and assistance, reaching tens of thousands of people. We must truly transform the achievements of Party building into tangible health and well-being that the people can see and feel.

Fourth, Party building embarks on a new journey, Delving Deeply into the cause of the elderly and shouldering the mission of The Times

In the new era, geriatric medical workers should remain true to their original aspiration and mission, always taking Party building as the soul to consolidate the political foundation, innovation as the pulse to activate the development momentum, and service as the foundation to fulfill the responsibility of medical practitioners.

New journey, new mission, new achievements. In the future, let all our Party members stand firm in their positions, forge ahead with determination, adhere to the right path and be innovative. We should persist in leading the high-quality development of the discipline with high-quality Party building, and incorporate political standards and requirements throughout the entire process and all aspects of geriatric medical work. Persist in empowering clinical quality improvement and efficiency enhancement through academic innovation, continuously refine diagnosis and treatment techniques, optimize service models, and delve deeply into professional fields. Adhere to the original aspiration of our posts through hard work, safeguard the health of the elderly with warmth, and do a good job in ensuring the health of the elderly with dedication, emotion and effort. In the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, we must establish and practice a correct view of political achievements. With the spiritual realm of "success does not necessarily belong to me" and the historical responsibility of "success must be attributed to me", we should demonstrate the original aspiration and mission of medical Party members in the new era and the true colors of medical professionals through concrete actions.

My micro-Party class comes to an end here. Thank you all!