And emphasized: "Whether a society is happy or not, a very important factor is to see whether the elderly are happy or not." Under this fundamental principle, actively responding to population aging and developing the cause of the elderly require long-term systematic governance and continuous investment.

From May 29th to 31st, 2026, the "Exchange Conference on Innovative Development of Medical Care, Health Preservation and Elderly Care in the New Era" was held in Shifang, Sichuan Province, hosted by the Public Health Service Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society and organized by the Shifang Municipal Health Bureau and Shifang Geriatric Hospital. The conference, themed "Deepening Medical and Elderly Care Empowerment for Health and Developing New Tracks for the Elderly", attracted over 200 experts, scholars and front-line workers from across the country. The representatives attending the meeting engaged in in-depth discussions on the institutional innovation and value guidance of the integration of medical care, health care and elderly care, jointly exploring practical paths to enhance the well-being of the elderly.

Party building leadership consolidates the ideological foundation

The meeting strictly implemented the "first topic" system. Wang Xiaotao, the deputy director of the branch, shared his insights on "Establishing a Correct View of Political Achievements to Serve the Health of the Elderly". Yang Zunqiang, the director of Shifang Geriatric Hospital, made a case speech based on practical experience from the front line. Zhang Lianshan, the general director of the branch, presided over the event. The meeting made it clear that the medical, health and elderly care work must adhere to the leadership of the Party building, and take "the approval of the elderly" as the fundamental yardstick to test the effectiveness of the work - that is, the specific transformation of "benefiting the people is the greatest political achievement" in the elderly care work, guiding the industry to establish a people-centered development orientation, and ensuring that all work serves the actual needs of the grassroots and the well-being of the people.

Build consensus and jointly seek innovative development

At the opening ceremony, representatives from all sides reached a broad consensus on the integration of medical care, health care and elderly care and the development of the silver economy, and clarified the action direction of coordinated advancement and innovation-driven development.

Ding Bin, the deputy secretary of the Shifang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said that Shifang will take this exchange meeting as a new starting point, seize the momentum, deepen the cultivation of health and elderly care talents and technical cooperation, continuously expand new tracks for the silver economy, and strive to build a benchmark for the integrated development of medical care, health and elderly care in counties. Xiong Ying, a member of the Party Group of the Health Commission of Deyang City and the full-time deputy director of the Municipal Health Care Office, introduced the progress of the integration of medical care and elderly care in Deyang City. Xiao Li, deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Health Promotion Center, shared the province's Silver Age Health project and the practical implementation of high-quality achievements. MAO Shoulong, the director of the Public Health Service Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society, pointed out that at present, it is urgent to take institutional innovation, system innovation and governance innovation as the key points to build a multi-party co-governance pattern and promote the transformation of elderly care services from "mainly providing bottom-line security" to "proactive health management throughout the entire life cycle".

All parties unanimously agree that the innovative development of medical care, health care and elderly care should adhere to the principle of top-down coordination and multi-party governance, take the well-being of the elderly as the fundamental goal, promote the cause of the elderly to leap from "whether there is or not" to "whether it is good or not", and accelerate the construction of a health service system covering the entire life cycle.

Promote typical experiences through practical cooperation

The conference adheres to the principle of giving equal weight to academic guidance and practical cooperation. The Beijing Geriatric Hospital and the Shifang Geriatric Hospital signed a letter of intent for medical collaborative development on the spot, marking a new stage of standardization, normalization and long-term effectiveness in the elderly medical and health care cooperation between Beijing and Shifang. Both sides will closely follow the trend of population aging, focus on core areas such as diagnosis and treatment of elderly diseases, rehabilitation and care, chronic disease management, and integration of medical care, health and elderly care, and deeply interact from four dimensions: technical collaboration, talent co-cultivation, system co-construction, and health promotion. Relying on the high-quality medical resources of the capital, they will make up for the shortcomings of disciplines, enabling grassroots people to enjoy more high-quality and convenient elderly medical services right at their doorstep.

Meanwhile, the conference invited experts from authoritative institutions such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Capital Medical University, and West China Hospital of Sichuan University to give special reports on cutting-edge topics such as standards for geriatric medical institutions, community proactive health integration care, and digital and intelligent chronic disease prevention and control. Based on national strategies and the actual situation at the grassroots level, It has provided scientific theoretical guidance and practical solutions to address the bottlenecks and difficulties in elderly health services, further consolidating the broad consensus of the entire industry on deepening the integration of medical care, health preservation and elderly care.

Inspection and exchange promote mutual improvement

To promote the in-depth integration of theory and practice, the conference specially set up an on-site investigation session. The representatives attending the meeting collectively visited the Baishan Fuyuan Health and Elderly Care Center and the medical and elderly care project of the Municipal Geriatric Hospital in Shifang City for observation and learning. The representatives not only discussed the innovative model of integrating medical, elderly care and rehabilitation resources from a macro perspective in the "Shifang Experience", but also exchanged specific operational and management insights from a detailed perspective. This inspection was highly rewarding for everyone. It was not only a successful sharing of experience but also a practical on-site teaching session. The representatives attending the meeting highly praised Shifang's exploration path.

Serve the grassroots and fulfill social responsibilities

During the conference, the Public Health Service Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society fully leveraged its platform advantages, led by Party building, to promote the precise allocation of high-quality medical resources. On May 31st, the "Party Building Leadership, Medical Practice by Your Side" science popularization and free medical consultation event, hosted by the branch, was successfully held in Yonghu Park.

More than ten Party member medical workers and authoritative experts from fields such as general practice, hepatobiliary surgery, and palliative care were on site to provide one-stop services including consultation for common diseases, medication guidance, and personalized health management plans for the public, bringing high-level medical services to the "doorstep" of the people. The event benefited over 300 citizens in total, and the on-site response was enthusiastic, earning wide acclaim.

This exchange conference integrates Party building leadership, policy interpretation, academic discussion, practical cooperation, public welfare services and on-site investigation. It is an industry grand event that deeply integrates concepts and practices, and exerts efforts in both top-level design and grassroots exploration. The conference reached a value consensus with "the elderly's approval" as the core yardstick, promoted the implementation of medical cooperation between Beijing and Shiyang, produced a batch of high-quality theoretical achievements and solutions, and through free medical consultation services and experience promotion, effectively transformed the conference achievements into the health and well-being of the grassroots people.

Looking to the future, the branch will continue to deepen the "policy - academia - practice" three-in-one empowerment model, promote typical samples of county-level medical care, health and elderly care integration such as the "Shifang Experience", gather industry strength, and contribute more to promoting the transformation of elderly care services from "bottom-line guarantee" to "full-cycle proactive health management", supporting the construction of a Healthy China and the national strategy of actively responding to population aging.