Nightingale service a lifeline for seniors

On a hot summer day in Jinan, Shandong province, 87-year-old Wang, an elderly woman who lives alone on Nanxin Street in Lixia district, clutched Cao Yingjuan's hands as she anxiously explained her predicament.

"The air conditioner is broken, and it's so stuffy inside. I got anxious and my heart started acting up, so I took the medicine twice," said Wang as her voice trembled.

Cao listened patiently until Wang finished talking. She then carefully reviewed the medical report and reminded her repeatedly to keep her blood pressure stable during the summer heat and to eat more fruits, vegetables, and quality protein.

Cao, 54, is the director of the nursing department at Qilu Hospital of Shandong University and team leader of the hospital's Nightingale nursing service volunteer team. Founded in 2011, the team has expanded to 12 specialty divisions, including organ transplantation and emergency rescue.

Their services reach all age groups, not only limited to empty-nest seniors but also aid children with autism, children in welfare homes, patients with chronic diseases, and people with disabilities.

Their footprint spans the 16 major cities across Shandong and extends far beyond the province to Qingjian county in Shaanxi and remote villages in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"Nursing is about empathy that puts yourself in another's shoes," Cao said.

Cao graduated from nursing school in 1991 and joined the pediatric department at Qilu Hospital. She later worked in blood purification, organ transplantation, and general surgery departments.

Over decades of dedication, she came to understand meticulous care, deep empathy, and unwavering commitment as the essence of nursing.

But it was a challenging family experience that led her down the path of the psychological care of empty-nest seniors.

After the death of her nephew in 2016, Cao watched in despair as her sister and brother-in-law struggled with their grief. That experience opened her eyes to the struggles of many empty-nest seniors and families who battled illness and loneliness in the wake of the deaths of their only children.

Since then, Cao has led volunteers in regular home visits to provide psychological companionship and emotional support to the elderly.

Another resident, Yang, 73, lost her husband and elder son in succession, while her second son lives abroad. The losses resulted in Yang isolating herself from the world.

Cao and her team visited her repeatedly, listened patiently and offered support. Today, Yang has emerged from the shadows and become a volunteer helper for the service team.

"Thanks to Cao and the others, I want to live a good life again," Yang said.

When volunteers are due to visit, many elderly people sit by the window early, waiting quietly and offering reluctant goodbyes at the end of visits. Through daily engagements, Cao and her team have developed a psychological support model suited to elders, guiding them from the confines of their homes to join neighborhood social activities, with depression and loneliness gradually dispelled.

"Attention to adolescent mental health is growing recently, but emotional support for the elderly cannot be overlooked," Cao said.

Since 2025, the volunteer nursing team has partnered with the Baotuquan subdistrict office to launch a medical-network partnership project.

Community workers and specialist nurses form one-on-one support pairs, jointly serving as dedicated health stewards for empty-nest and solitary elderly residents.

Cao said the team also plans to introduce an online artificial intelligence therapy system, using AI to assist in psychological counseling. Emergency rescue training is another key work of the team. In May 2025, a life education base at Qilu Hospital officially opened, with a 400-square-meter teaching space equipped with an AI-powered teaching system offering tailored first-aid courses for different groups.

To date, it has trained 175 rescue instructors and over 2,350 certified rescuers.

Wang Wenjun, head nurse of Qilu Hospital's emergency department and one of the team members, has volunteered for 15 years.

"Seeing more and more ordinary people master first-aid skills makes all the efforts worthwhile," she said.

The team has developed standardized first-aid courses for children and gradually extended them to rural areas and elderly groups.

"Some people think volunteering is about what we give, but we gain far more. Being needed is also a form of healing," Cao said.

In recent years, under the coordination of Shandong University, Cao has helped medical schools and hospitals in Tanzania, Pakistan, and other countries develop targeted assistance plans.

"Medical care exists not only in hospital wards but also in ordinary households. The moving acts of care happen not only at the bedside but also at the windows where empty-nest seniors watch and wait, and in every heart longing for companionship and warmth," Cao said.

zhaoruixue@chinadaily.com.cn