The workshop participants also visited the Sun-life Uozaki Nursing Home and Care House, in a residential suburb of Kobe. Its two buildings cover a total area of 6611m², and they incorporate homecare and nursing facilities as well as sheltered group apartments. The facility is staffed by part-time doctors, daily living consultants, care assistants, care workers, nurses, nutritionists, cooks and administrative officers, to provide extensive care. Its Special Elderly Nursing Home can house 30 residents, with a further 20 on a short-stay basis. 

The home aims for a ‘family-like’ environment, with a friendly atmosphere and communal activities. It incorporates a daycare service for up to 40 people, transportation, machine-assisted bathing, entertainment, rehabilitation, daily living consultation and education on elderly care. ‘Nurse-call buttons’ are easily accessible to users throughout the home.

The same building’s At-home Care Assistance Office arranges consultation for the elderly who need daily care at home, and their families, tailoring specific care plans to the individual needs of each recipient. Its Comprehensive Local Assistance Center offers preventive care plans, counseling and support for protection of elderly citizens’ rights, in cooperation with social welfare counselors, nurses, care managers and monitors. 
                                                                                                                 Workshop participants see the communal activity                                                                                                                       room at Sun-life Uozaki

On the 4th floor of the building, a multipurpose events hall, a roof garden and meeting rooms help give the center a communal atmosphere; and two apartment style residences on the upper floors each house eight elderly sufferers of dementia, living with staff who assist them with cooking, eating, cleaning, washing and shopping. 

The next-door building, the Fleur Uozaki Nakamachi, was constructed by the Urban Development Corporation as part of the recovery construction after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The building is rented by Kobe City, and has 9 individual elderly housing units and a further two group homes each housing 8 sufferers of mild dementia, with shared kitchens, dining rooms and bathrooms, and live-in staff. 
                                                                                                                   Bathing facilities for the elderly at Sun-life Uozaki