Huaijing Medical Files IPO Prospectus: Pioneering a Community-Based Home Elderly Care Model Centered on Rehabilitation Therapy

Influenced by traditional Chinese concepts of elderly care, the majority of older adults opt for home-based care. Many regions have adopted a “9073” elderly care model, wherein 90% of seniors receive care at home, 7% (or 6%) utilize community-based services, and 3% (or 4%) reside in institutional facilities such as nursing homes.Comprehensively advancing home-based elderly care is a crucial approach to resolving the increasingly acute challenges in elderly care services.

As the second most aged city in China, Chongqing has successively introduced elderly care policies. In 2018, the “Implementation Plan for the ‘Thousands and Hundreds Project’ of Community Elderly Care Services in Chongqing” proposed that from 2018 to 2020, the city planned to newly build1,000 unitsCommunity Elderly Care Service Stations: A Key Focus100Municipal-level Demonstration Community Elderly Care Service Center. Encourage participation and support from all sectors of society for community-based home elderly care services, adopting “"Publicly Built, Privately Operated" and "Privately Run, Publicly Subsidized"through such means as supporting elderly care institutions or elderly care service enterprises in operating community-based elderly care service centers (stations).

Based on this, Huaijing Medical transitioned from medical device sales to community-based home elderly care services. It pioneered a home-based elderly care model focused on affordable elderly health management and chronic disease prevention/rehabilitation therapy to serve the elderly population in communities, and was selected in 2019 as an operational service provider for Chongqing’s “Thousands and Hundreds Project” for community-based home elderly care services.

During this period, the concept of physical rehabilitation services for chronic diseases in the elderly advocated by Huaijing Medical received strong support from the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs and the Yubei District Bureau of Civil Affairs, gaining unanimous recognition from civil affairs departments at both municipal and district levels. Meanwhile, Huaijing Medical’s community-based home care service model featuring rehabilitative physiotherapy was highlighted as an outstanding case of innovation and reform in home-based elderly care services by official media outlets including CCTV, Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily Online, and Chongqing Daily.

Media Coverage and Publicity

From May 25 to 28, 2021, the Department of Elderly Care Services under the Ministry of Civil Affairs held a specialized training workshop on the development of elderly care service systems in Chongqing. Yu Jianliang, Director of the Department of Elderly Care Services, delivered the opening mobilization address and conducted lectures. Participants were also organized to visit the Mingzhu Community Elderly Care Service Station in Guanyinqiao Subdistrict, Jiangbei District, Chongqing, which is operated by Huaijing Medical, to conduct on-site observations and learn from its implementation experience in providing rehabilitation and physiotherapy-based community home care services for the elderly.

On May 25, 2021, Yu Jianliang, Director of the Department of Elderly Care Services under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, inspected the Mingzhu Community Elderly Care Service Station in Jiangbei District, operated by Huaijing Medical.

Image provided by the company

How does Huaijing Medical differ from traditional health and wellness enterprises? Why has it succeeded in its transformation? How was the transition executed, and what lies ahead for its future development? To address these questions, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) conducted an exclusive interview with Jiao Jian, co-founder of Huaijing Medical.

Huaijing Medical was established in 2017. Originally engaged in the sales and agency of medical devices, the company later actively responded to government calls by transforming its business to focus on community-based home elderly care services.

Following the transformation, the company has assembled an operations and management team with extensive industry experience in elderly health management, chronic disease rehabilitation and physiotherapy, home-based elder care services, supply chain management, corporate management, marketing, and internet-enabled smart elder care. The company is committed to building an elder care service ecosystem, researching and applying smart elder care service systems, and managing and operating community-based elder care projects focused on rehabilitation and physiotherapy.

Huaijing Medical has established an integrated service system encompassing “rehabilitation, elderly care, and nursing,” featuring a novel home-based physical rehabilitation model for chronic diseases characterized by the integration of medical care with elderly support and scientifically grounded elder care.Featuring "inclusive physical rehabilitation and physiotherapy," it operates as a third-party, low-margin manager of community elderly care service stations under the administration of the national civil affairs department.

In 2019, Huaijing Medical was selected as an operational service provider for Chongqing’s “Thousands and Hundreds Project” for community-based home elderly care services. It officially established the “Huaijing Health and Elderly Care Home” brand, specializing in rehabilitative physiotherapy-oriented community-based home elderly care services, and operated over 30 such community elderly care service stations on a low-margin, agency basis in Yubei District and Jiangbei District.

Unlike traditional elderly care stations, Huaijing MedicalScenario DevelopmentandTechnical ServicesSignificant efforts have been made.

Huaijing Health and Wellness Home includes10 Functional Areas:Operations Management Area, Service Reception Area, Health Assessment Area, Cultural Education Area, Leisure and Entertainment Area, Humanistic Care Area, Leasing Exhibition Area, Health Management Area, Traditional Chinese Medicine Therapy Area, Daily Living Care Area.

and inVarious functional zones have rolled out corresponding, more detailed services.. For example, the Health Management Zone provides services such as health education, prevention and rehabilitation training for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, meridian unblocking, and rehabilitation for diabetes, neurological disorders, respiratory conditions, and lower limb circulatory system issues. The Humanistic Care Zone offers services including psychological assessment, psychological counseling, and psychological guidance.

For the elderly population aging in place，Huaijing Medical has also upgraded and adapted its service offerings.Expanded community-based elderly care service offerings, including health management for the elderly, prevention and control of chronic diseases, rehabilitation for individuals with disabilities (including partial disabilities), and age-friendly adaptations. These services provide home-dwelling seniors with daily living assistance, meal support, product purchasing assistance, medical accompaniment, rental of rehabilitative assistive devices, and in-home caregiving. Leveraging its prior accumulation and integration of supply chain resources in the medical device sector, Huaijing Medical has also launchedRehabilitation Equipment Rental, Home-Based Rehabilitation, etc.Community-based elderly care services.

Jiao Jian stated: “The core competition in the elderly care industry ultimately comes down to 'service'.“It is never too late. As long as we genuinely listen to and address the elderly care needs of the aging population, thereby earning their trust, it will not be difficult to survive and thrive amidst the silver tsunami.”

About“Managed Operation of Community Elderly Care Service Stations”Regarding operations, Jiao Jian offers his own perspective: “Elderly care service stations will attract elderly care resources from various parties, creating advantages in agglomeration and resource integration, which can reduce comprehensive costs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of services.”

Why Choose the "Low-Margin" Model?

Jiao Jian stated that, on one hand, this aligns with government guidance; on the other hand, elderly care is a universally accessible service. Huaijing Medical, guided by its vision of “ensuring care for all seniors,” aims to provide high-quality, affordable services to the elderly. Meanwhile, by offering low-margin services as an entry point, the company can collect user habits and data from seniors, thereby accumulating resources to deliver more comprehensive, benchmarked services for the aging society in the future, while also building up “data oil” to uncover additional commercial opportunities down the line.

“How can ‘low-margin agency operations’ ensure profitability?”

Huaijing Medical has its own proprietary secrets—

• Precision Services, Reduced Service Costs.Huaijing Medical Adheres to Standardized Physical Rehabilitation Service Protocols. By focusing on detail-oriented service optimization, the company has significantly reduced service costs while ensuring compliance with service standards.

• Provide procurement agency services, integrate the supply chain, and generate reasonable profits from it.In operating elderly care service stations, Huaijing Medical collects comprehensive data on the needs of seniors in subdivided communities regarding daily living and healthcare, integrates its supply chain resources, collaborates directly with source manufacturers to reduce costs, and promotes the inclusive availability of paid community-based elderly care services through bulk purchasing.

• High cost-effectiveness, trading volume for profit, relying on a large user base for profitabilityHuaijing Medical offers a wide range of rehabilitation and physiotherapy services at affordable prices. While similar physiotherapy services in hospitals may cost hundreds of yuan, Huaijing Medical charges only tens of yuan per session. For instance, its comprehensive physiotherapy monthly pass is priced at RMB 298 per month, granting access to 7–9 types of physiotherapy treatments, which equates to RMB 4,500–6,000 worth of services. Individual services are also available at low rates; for example, far-infrared therapy costs just RMB 3 per session. With more than a dozen such physiotherapy options, the center has become highly popular among elderly residents in the community. Its low entry threshold, high service quality, and effective rehabilitation outcomes have earned Huaijing Medical strong word-of-mouth reputation, resulting in high user stickiness and repeat purchase rates.

Unique service models and high-quality services have propelled the rapid development of Huaijing Medical. Currently, Huaijing Medical has undertaken30 companiesChongqing’s elderly care service stations, with services covering approximately80,000Multiple elderly individuals.

Next, Huaijing Medical plansExpanding the Service Landscape, established no fewer than 10 district- and county-level branches and 100 “rehabilitation and physiotherapy-oriented community elderly care service stations” across various districts of Chongqing between 2022 and 2023, while gradually expanding into provincial markets outside the municipality. Jiao Jian stated that Huaijing Medical is currently undergoingRecruitment of Core Management TeamandSeeking the Next Round of Financing, the funds will be used to optimize service systems, attract talent, develop products, expand markets, manage supply chains, and enhance smart wearable hardware compatibility.