Since the beginning of this year, Yunhe county in Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province, has been actively exploring ways to integrate medical and nursing care based on its geographical conditions to improve the service capacity for the elderly.

According to the county's civil affairs bureau, with an increasing number of young workers going to bigger cities, the left-behind and solitary elderly and empty-nesters in Yunhe lack company and care and are faced with poor living environments and inadequate medical resources.

In order to improve the living environment and living standards of the elderly, the civil affairs bureau integrated the functions of home care service centers and health centers, and built a comprehensive service system combining medical care with nursing care.

Many seniors have already benefited from the full range of services brought by the system.

"What we old people are most afraid of is getting sick. Through the integration of medical and nursing care, we have basic medical services and feel more relieved living here," said a 79-year-old villager surnamed Song.