A new community long-term care facility in Puli, Nantou, is good news for local older residents with disabilities or dementia and their families, and it fills a gap in a long-term care sector stretched thin on staffing.

• The Zhuzishan community long-term care facility, a joint project of National Chi Nan International University and the Puli Township Office, opened today and can provide day care for up to 60 older adults.
• Puli's older population has been growing steadily and the township's long-term care capacity has not kept up. The facility takes in both older adults with disabilities and those with dementia, serving Puli and Yuchi.
• The facility uses AI and motion-sensing technology: exercise training is turned into tasks that accumulate over time, cognitive training questions adjust in difficulty according to performance, and the system also matches older adults with neighbours and volunteers who share their interests.
• A dietitian from Puli Christian Hospital provides nutrition services on a regular basis, and a welfare vehicle for pick-up and drop-off as well as respite services are planned.
• The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on industry-academia cooperation, under which the facility will serve as an internship site for Chi Nan students, effectively bringing the classroom and the care setting together.

Outlook: The facility begins accepting cases from today, and the key question going forward is whether it can genuinely fill Puli's long-term care staffing gap.