Nursing home profitability on rise

Young entrepreneur looks to hybrid services to meet growing demand for senior care

After years of working with seniors, Guo Shiping has acquired a key insight: "The elderly are like kids. They want attention from families and those around them. You need to listen and attend to their needs," he said.

Guo, 34, is a native of Gongzhuling, Jilin province, and the founder of Lingxi Nursing Home. In 2011, he graduated from Kwangwoon University in Seoul, South Korea, with majors in computer science and engineering.

"I guess the idea of starting a nursing home came from my parents," he said.

Guo's father is a local government official and his mother is a doctor. "From childhood, they taught me to care for others and to do meaningful things for society," he said.

The idea to start a nursing home in his hometown came to Guo after he graduated. Over the next year, he visited nursing homes in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and Changchun, Jilin. He also studied nursing homes in South Korea to look at their concepts on elderly care.

"Our model is a combination of medical and care services. Instead of simply providing meals and meeting basic daily needs, we pay more attention to people's emotions and overall health.

Also, the location of our nursing home is next to a 3A-grade public hospital, which is just a five-minute walk."