-Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital(Managed by Kaohsiung Medical University)-
In support of Taiwan’s Healthy Taiwan initiative and the vision of sustainable healthcare, Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital (KMSH) has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with several leading long-term care providers in Kaohsiung, including Chong-En Long-Term Care Group, Lin-Hai Long-Term Care System, Bo-Zheng Long-Term Care System, Kaohsiung Municipal Private Ri-He Elderly Long-Term Care Center, and Kaohsiung Municipal Private Ri-Guang Le-Jia Elderly Long-Term Care Center.
Through these partnerships, KMSH will extend its expertise in chewing and swallowing care into long-term care facilities while establishing a coordinated network for timely medical intervention. By moving healthcare beyond the physical boundaries of the hospital and into the everyday living environments of older adults, the collaboration aims to put the concept of a “Hospital Without Walls” into practice and build a compassionate, sustainable, and community-based healthcare safety net for the people of Kaohsiung.
Dr. Chih-Hsing Hung, Superintendent of Kaohsiung Municipal Siaogang Hospital, stated that KMSH has long been committed to community healthcare and elderly care. At the heart of this collaboration is the vision of creating a local healthcare safety net through the “Hospital Without Walls” model.
The partnership will focus on three major areas. First, KMSH will bring its expertise in chewing and swallowing disorder care directly to frontline long-term care settings, helping residents regain oral feeding and, where clinically appropriate, successfully transition away from nasogastric tube feeding. The hospital will also work with the facilities’ central kitchens to promote texture-modified diets and jointly develop customized, nutritious meal packages tailored to the needs of older adults.
Second, the partners will jointly introduce an early warning mechanism for acute medical conditions, enabling care teams to identify changes in residents’ health status at an earlier stage. When medical attention is required, a two-way referral mechanism will be activated immediately. Discharge planning services will also be strengthened to ensure continuity of care as older adults transition between hospitals and long-term care facilities.
Third, the collaboration will further break down the physical boundaries of hospital-based care. KMSH physicians will conduct regular on-site visits at participating facilities, while interdisciplinary services such as home-based medical care and home dental care will be further developed. Health examinations and cancer screening services will also be brought directly into long-term care facilities, supporting comprehensive health management not only for residents, but also for older adults in the surrounding community and long-term care staff.
At the MOU signing ceremony, executives from prominent long-term care organizations in Kaohsiung attended in person, sharing their expectations for the healthcare–long-term care integration initiative from the perspectives of their respective professional expertise and operational strengths.
Mr. Wei-Hua Kung, Chief Executive Officer of Chong-En Long-Term Care Group, stated that the Group has long been committed to developing large-scale and systematic elderly care services. Through years of experience, Chong-En has gained a deep understanding of two major challenges: the lack of strong medical support for older adults living in long-term care facilities and the difficulties they often encounter when transitioning from acute hospital care back to institutional care.
Through this partnership, Chong-En aims to establish a person-centered model integrating healthcare and long-term care, covering the full continuum from admission health examinations and routine physician visits to health screenings, chronic prescription management, post-discharge home-based care and post-acute care (PAC), as well as advance care planning (ACP) and hospice and palliative care at the end of life. The goal is to create an integrated care environment in which older adults can receive convenient and professional healthcare and long-term care services.
Through its partnership with KMSH, Chong-En will also leverage the institutional meal production capabilities of its affiliated Chong-Zhi Food Co., Ltd. to advance texture-modified diets and diversified nutritious meals. By addressing dietary needs at the source, the initiative seeks to reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia and nutritional problems associated with swallowing difficulties among older adults.
Mr. Kung emphasized that the deeper goal of the partnership is to develop the collaboration between Chong-En Long-Term Care Group and the Kaohsiung Medical University healthcare system into one of Taiwan’s most representative and large-scale models of integrated healthcare and long-term care.
Mr. Yu-En Chiu, Chief Executive Officer of Lin-Hai Long-Term Care System, said, “Lin-Hai Long-Term Care System and KMSH are close neighbors, and what matters most to us is ensuring that our residents have convenient and timely access to medical care. By jointly introducing an early warning mechanism for acute conditions in long-term care facilities, we can identify changes in residents’ health at an earlier stage. It is like building a high-speed lifeline directly to KMSH, giving our frontline nursing staff the strongest possible medical support when unexpected healthcare needs arise.”
Mr. Yue-Ze Lin, Chief Operating Officer of Bo-Zheng Long-Term Care System, stated that, in addition to building on Bo-Zheng’s existing strengths in precision rehabilitation and reablement, the organization looks forward to establishing mechanisms for talent development and two-way professional training. By incorporating KMSH’s expertise in chewing and swallowing care into routine training at long-term care facilities, the partnership will enhance the quality of frontline care while helping older adults regain dignity and quality of life.
Bo-Zheng will also fully introduce a “green channel” for integrated healthcare and long-term care services, together with an acute-condition early warning mechanism, to reduce waiting times when residents require medical attention. Through this collaboration, Bo-Zheng aims to establish a sustainable and replicable model that supports dignified, smart, and age-friendly aging in place.
Ms. Hsin-Ting Yu, Supervisor of Kaohsiung Municipal Private Ri-He Elderly Long-Term Care Center and Ri-Guang Le-Jia Elderly Long-Term Care Center, stated, “Ri-He and Ri-Guang Le-Jia emphasize warm, family-like, attentive, and high-quality daily care. In this partnership, our focus will be on combining enhanced meal services with preventive medicine. By incorporating KMSH’s clinical nutrition expertise and on-site physician services, together with precise texture modification through Ri-He’s central kitchen, we will be able to provide diversified and nutritious meals tailored to the individual needs of older adults. Through preventive medicine, we hope to safeguard the health of every resident in our facilities.”
Through resource sharing and deeper strategic partnerships, this initiative seeks to break down the traditional boundaries between acute medical care and long-term care and seamlessly integrate healthcare services into the daily lives of older adults.
By strengthening the capabilities of frontline long-term care facilities and establishing closer connections between hospitals, institutions, and communities, KMSH and its partners aim to build a comprehensive, reliable, and compassionate healthcare safety net for the people of Kaohsiung—bringing the vision of a “Hospital Without Walls” into reality.
