Better Conditions for Senior Citizens in Ciego de Avila

Ciego de Avila, Cuba, Apr 11 (acn) The 16 Senior Citizens Homes in Ciego de Avila province were remodeled during the past year and are already certified meaning that their optimum construction conditions are ready to begin applying a rate implemented since 2014.

According to resolution 867 by the Cuban Public Health Ministry, the centers with good infrastructure, comprehensive medical attention, recreation and food services will be charged from 25 to 180 Cuban Pesos in the case of the Senior Citizens Centers and 40 or 60 to 400 at Elderly Homes.

Those that cannot afford to pay for the service will receive a partial or total aid from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that is currently undergoing a socioeconomic study for the evaluation, said Yohany Diaz Diaz, head of the Senior Citizens, Social Assistance and Disability Department at the Provincial Health Center.

We are still below the occupancy rate at the senior center. We have a capacity of 520 and currently have 398 occupying the center mainly because there is a lot of ignorance on how these installations work and services that are carried out for the elderly, he said.

There is only one senior center in the territory that is certified and located in the municipality of Florencia with seven still in the construction process, said the specialist.

Those that want to enter in one of these installations is included in a waiting list with a number that is constantly fluctuating because when a bed is available for whatever reasons, the authorities call the next on the list, said Yohany Diaz.

There are 622 capacities in all of the senior centers in the province and city of Ciego de Avila and Moron is still not 100 percent full because part of its installation is still under construction, he said.

ACN visited the Celia Sanchez Manduley Senior Center in the city and was able to see the good conditions of the site with good spaces for the nurses, exercises and occupational therapy areas, kitchen and dining room among others.

Mailyn Naranjo Ruiz, who works as a nurse at the center explained that it is one of the few senior centers in the country with the proper conditions for the elderly with cognitive deterioration.

All receive three meals a day from 7 am when the doors are open until almost 7 pm when the senior citizens return to their homes, she pointed out.

Rosario Rodriguez Garcia who is 78 years of age is one of the 40 people that visit the institution, according to Rosario she receives the best possible attention, with multiple activities like physical training, reading on history, watch television, listen to music, and celebrate group birthdays.

She says that she can pay the rate with her social security each month and believes that it is a good investment because the center has the necessary comfort and they guarantee her meals.

Cuba prioritizes the care of its senior citizens and is among the first aging population in Latin America and the Caribbean with statistics that report that by the year 2025 Cuba's population over 60 years of age will rise to 30.8 percent.