OTIUM Pensioner debate, and travellingclubs Sale of hobby work Transport of pensioners walking with difficulty Outings Winter shelters A periodical for everybody who is interested in care In connection with the gathering-places the EGV arranges a large number of activities, such as a pensioner debate, i.e. a discussion between celebrities and elderly people, and travelling-clubs, where the summer-holidays are prepared by study groups under expert guidance. The Bette Nøk retail-shops take the pensioners' hobby work for sale and offer a large number of individually made and often very nice goods. Handing in and sale at 17, Borgergade, 1300 Copenhagen K, branch in the Peder Lykke Centre, 65, Peder Lykkesvej, 2300 Copenhagen S. Pensioners walking with difficulty are driven to the gathering-places of the EGV and home again without charge. Bus trips to outing places on Sealand or in Scania, with lunch or dinner, regularly start from a number of gatheringplaces. Weekly gatherings during the winter, with entertainment and coffee, take place in 21 winter shelters in the metropolitan region. 71-413 O 73 - 31 The Peder-Lykke Center is the newest, and perhaps most elegant. of the centers operated by Ensomme Gamles Vaern. It is located in Copenhagen, quite close to the airport. A description follows: On the evening of Thursday, September 16, 1971, the Subcommittee visited the Peder-Lykke Centret located just outside downtown Copenhagen. It participated in a tour of the Center and in discussions with Center management and patients. The Peder-Lykke Centret in Copenhagen is an excellent example of attempts on part of the Danish government to develop progressive and meaningful facilities for its elderly citizens. It is one of the newest of such centers in Copenhagen, having been completed in January 1971. It is owned by a private, fully government subsidized corporation. It was built in close cooperation with the municipality of Copenhagen. The Center consists of three (3) basic components. 1. A day center, which functions as a neighborhood center for all elderly people of the district in which the Center is located. The Center is located in a residential neighborhood, housing families of all age groups. The elderly population in the area is encouraged to use the day center, which is a common meeting ground for them and for the resi dents of the Peder-Lykke Centret itself. In addition, access to the Center by younger families is convenient, so that the elderly housed in the Center do not have a sense of isolation. The day center provides intellectual and manual activities, and various club activities. The Center can serve about 800 all day of elderly visitors per week. 2. The second component of the Center is a group of 240 supervised one and two room flats. These flats are designed to care for the elderly who have a limited need for nursing care. It contains a restaurant, assembly rooms, recreation rooms, and so on. Day and night assistance for the elderly living in the supervised flats is available from the adjacent nursing center. 3. The third component of the Center consists of 148 nursing flats. These flats are designed to enable those elderly with requirements for intensive nursing care to live a meaningful life. Each resident of the nursing center has his or her own room, which is furnished to the greatest degree possible with their own possessions in order to provide individuality and identity. The only standardized piece of furniture in the rooms is the bed, which had to be standardized for reasons of housekeeping. Meals are selected by the inhabitants and are served either in their rooms or in a communal dining hall. Special diets, such as low sodium diets and diabetic diets are available through the very well equipped modern kitchen. The nursing center also contains facilities for occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and meetings. A very important component noted by the Subcommittee of the nursing center was a beauty shop. Each of the elderly female residents is encouraged to have her hair done, have manicures and so on in order to help maintain self esteem and feeling of worth. A small physicians office is located in the nursing center. Here, patients can be examined on a regular basis, and a general practitioner is available to see them in the office located in the Center on an emergency basis if necessary. The Subcommittee was particularly impressed by a small gift shop located adjacent to the nursing center. The products of the center residents' occupational therapy endeavors are offered for sale in the gift shop. The proceeds for the sale, minus a small commission, go directly to the nursing center patients. This is another example of the attempt of the Center to provide a meaningful existence for the Center inhabitants. The Subcommittee was very much impressed with the contrast between this modern, well-designed attractive Center and many of the nursing homes found in our country. It strongly recomments that the attempts in Denmark as well as other Scandinavian countries in this regard be emulated as much as possible in our country. One of the most dramatic encounters the Subcommittee experienced while in Scandinavia was meeting with 83 year old Ingebor Hinding, a resident of Massachusetts for 24 years before returning to her native Denmark. The Subcommittee met with her in her attractive, clean modern apartment which overlooked downtown Copenhagen. The apartment was part of the Pederlykke complex, and was furnished with Miss Hinding's own furniture. She had many friends at the Centre, and was active in the life at the Centre. Had she still been living in Massachusetts, there is a good chance she would have been in a nursing home, run for profit, together with many elderly people in varying states of health. Her only recreation might well have been a television set. The Subcommittee was deeply impressed with the contrast between the Peder-Lykke Centre and our nursing homes in the United States. APPENDIX 2 PROGRAM FOR THE VISIT OF THE U.S. SENATE HEALTH SUBCOMMITTEE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 11:15 pm-Arrival at Arlanda air-port, Stockholm, Sweden. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 8:00 am-The Cabinet Office. The Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Mr. Sven Aspling. 9:00 am-Departure from the Cabinet Office to Bromma air-port. 9:30 am-Departure from Bromma to Kiruna. 11:00 am-Arrival at Kiruna. Visit to the hospital and to the health center. Lunch will be served. 2:00 pm-Departure from Kiruna to Luleå. 2:30 pm-Arrival at Luleå. Visit to the hospital in Luleå and the health center (Mjölkudden). (The geriatric clinic). 5:00 pm-Departure from Luleå to Stockholm (Bromma). 6:15 pm-Arrival at Bromma air-port. 8:00 pm-Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Dinner offered by the Royal Swedish Government. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 7:30-9:30 am-Visit to the central general hospital in Danderyd (emergency room and departments for pediatrics, medical rehabilita tion and to the intensive care unit). Refreshments will be served be fore departure. 10-12 am-The National Board of Health and Welfare. Financing of the health services. The health insurance system and its relation to the health services. Mr. Lars-Åke Åström, Director General, The National Social Insurance Board. 12:30-1:45 pm-Visit to the Parliament Building and buffet lunch offered by the Swedish Parliament. 2-5 pm-The National Board of Health and Welfare. Discussions with representatives of the medical authorities from Denmark, Fin land and Norway. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 9:20 am-Departure from Arlanda air-port. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1971 8:00 a.m.-The Cabinet Office meeting with the Minister of Health and Social Affairs, Mr. Sven Aspling. Overview of Swedish Health Care System. 9:00a.m.-Visit to Kiruna, Northern Sweden. Kiruna is a steel mining town, located about 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It has a population of about 25,000, and the largest area of any city in the world. The subcommittee's trip to Kiruna was designed to enable it to study rural health care systems. In Kiruna, the Subcommittee visited the Kiruna Hospital, a district hospital located in the center of the town. The Kiruna Hospital is staffed by 14 physicians, four surgeons, four interns, two radiologists, one pediatrician, one ophthalmologist, and a part time otolaryngologist. All physicians at the hospital are on salary. The hospital has 222 beds, and a total of 260 staff. The Subcommittee also visited one of the two county owned health centers. The health centers, one of which is located at the hospital, are staffed by five general practitioners. In addition, the only two private practitioners located in the northern one-fourth of Sweden are in Kiruna, and have their own private offices. The general practitioners, although they don't care for in-hospital patients, have a very good working relationship with the hospital based publically employed specialists. Referrals are made back and forth, and the general practitioners are kept abreast of developments in their hospitalized patients. A municipally operated fleet of 3 ambulances serves the Kiruna area. Ambulances are radio-dispatched, and physicians rotate "call" in order to adequately cover the hospital's emergency service. Physicians from all over Sweden as well as other Scandinavian countires train at the Kiruna hospital. It is "accredited" to give postgraduate training to medical students from any Swedish Medical School. This feature of the hospital enables it to attract many highly qualified specialists. Some of the medical students, once exposed to rural practice, decide to stay in northern Sweden. Upon completion of a visit to the town's public health faclities, the Subcommittee visited the LK-AB Iron Mine. The LK-AB company runs an occupational medicine clinic for its 4200 employees. There, the company physician gives pre-employment physical exams, periodic health examinations, and treats about 80 percent of the industrial accidents occurring at the mine. Most non-employment related therapeutics are referred to the district hospital at Kiruna, but the LK-AB clinic will treat them upon request for a fee. Prescriptions are filled free of charge. The state insurance fund reimburses the com |