Leyu Care: Bridging Offline and Online Services to Create an Integrated In-Hospital and Home-Based Nursing Model

Chengdu Leyu Health Care Co., Ltd. was established on April 1, 2008, and is a company dedicated to providing professional care and rehabilitation services for patients and individuals with disabilities. Leyu Nursing is its flagship product.

With the continuous improvement of economic and social development, the demand for medical and nursing services in China has begun to surge. Data shows that the number of hospital discharges in China was approximately 195 million in 2014, rising to 203 million in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Meanwhile, the domestic nursing industry is facing significant brain drain and shortages of hospital nursing personnel, with a shortfall of at least 5 million caregivers.

In November 2000, the results of China’s Fifth National Population Census indicated that the country had entered an aging society. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of the population aged 65 and above reached 9.1% by the end of 2011, a figure nearly identical to Japan’s in 1980. The United Nations projects that by 2040, China will approach Japan’s 2011 level, with the aging rate exceeding 21.8%, thereby making China a veritable “nation of the elderly.”

Trend Chart of the Proportion of Population Aged 60 and Above in China

According to a study by the China Institute of Social Management, by 2020, the number of semi-disabled elderly people in China will reach 68.52 million to 75.90 million, and the number of disabled elderly people will reach 5.99 million to 6.74 million, while the number of positions for elderly care workers should reach 6.57 million to 7.31 million. However, currently, there are only more than 50,000 certified elderly care workers nationwide, with a turnover rate of 40% to 50% for newly added elderly care workers. This means that there is an imbalance between the supply of personnel available to provide services and the strong demand for care services in this market, i.e., the market demand far exceeds the number of service providers.

Pain Points Exist for Both Users and Caregivers in the Provision of Nursing ServicesFor users, the professional skills and personal qualities of caregivers in the current nursing market are uneven, making it difficult to select suitable personnel for companionship care among the numerous options. Furthermore, the lack of transparency in pricing standards and the difficulty in comparing and choosing services constitute a major pain point in the user’s decision-making process. For caregivers, temporary work arrangements offer little job security, resulting in a low sense of occupational stability. Moreover, caregivers have limited capacity to bear risks in the event of nursing incidents; issues related to compensation and conflicts between caregivers and patients’ families are difficult to resolve. Additionally, the fragmented nature of their work prevents caregivers from effectively accumulating and demonstrating their professional value.

The development stages of the patient escort industry are: a fragmented and unregulated stage, a relatively standardized stage with regulatory oversight, and a “service quality enhancement + Internet” stage.

LeYu Nursing’s mission is to address the pain points of both patients and caregivers by delivering high-quality nursing services to patients and providing a secure professional platform for caregivers, thereby pioneering a new model of care that spans both in-hospital and out-of-hospital settings.

LeYu Nursing provides users with nursing services both inside and outside hospitals. In-hospital patient escorting is one of these services; information on available nursing staff within the platform is uploaded to LeYu Nursing’s WeChat platform and updated in real time.

After users make an appointment via the “LeYu Nursing” WeChat platform, nursing staff will verify the patient’s condition through the hospital’s nursing center. The price for caregiving services is determined based on the type and severity of the illness. Once the user confirms the price, they sign a contract with the nursing staff. Upon completion of these procedures, the user makes the payment, and the platform arranges for nursing personnel to provide services within one hour. After the service is delivered, users can rate the nursing staff, serving as a reference for other users when selecting caregivers. Meanwhile, the rating system reflects the value of the nursing staff, incentivizes their performance, and fosters a virtuous cycle. In addition to in-hospital caregiving, LeYu Nursing also provides home-based caregiving, home nursing, family doctor, and health assessment services.

Chen Zhengdong, CEO of Leyu Nursing, stated that the internet is merely a tool they leverage; once the product is launched, it will be offered free of charge to industry professionals to facilitate greater resource integration.

It is reported that LeYu Care is the first officially registered company in Sichuan Province to provide professional caregiving services. To date, its products have accumulated a user base of 200,000.

Chen Zhengdong, CEO of LeYu Nursing, stated that the key distinction between their product and other caregiving solutions is that LeYu Nursing does not operate as a third-party intermediary platform between caregivers and patients. Instead, it establishes direct employment relationships with caregivers. The platform provides caregivers with stable employment opportunities, transforming what was once a fragmented profession into a more structured career path. This enhances the professional value of caregivers, earning them greater recognition and respect. LeYu Nursing’s competitive advantage lies in its deep understanding of the industry.

Caregivers on the platform are graduates from nursing schools and experienced caregivers with years of practice. After joining the platform, they undergo a period of professional training before starting work to ensure service quality.

When discussing memorable experiences during the entrepreneurial journey, Chen Zhengdong stated that in the initial stages of launching this project, there was a severe shortage of nursing care resources. On one occasion, he personally served as a caregiver to accompany a patient at the hospital. Later, as the platform continued to expand and attract more staff members, LeYu Nursing gained increasing recognition from patients’ families.

From left to right: Chen Zhengdong, CEO of LeYu Nursing; Xia He, CBOOde, CTO Zheng Hai

Chen Zhengdong, CEO of Leyu Nursing, graduated from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. With eight years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, he previously served as a Provincial Regional Manager at Chengdu Jule Pharmaceutical. In 2008, he founded Chengdu Leyu Health Nursing Co., Ltd.

Xia Heyong, CBO, Nursing Care Enthusiast, graduated from the West China Medical Center of Sichuan University. She previously served as the Head Nurse of the Emergency Department and Pediatrics/PICU at Sichuan Provincial Hospital for Women and Children, and as the Monitoring Supervisor in the Clinical Research Department of Chengdu Kanghong Pharmaceutical Group.

Zheng Hai, CTO of Leyu Nursing, graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. He has many years of experience in software development and project management and previously served as Technical Director at Shenzhen Tianyuan Dic Information Technology Co., Ltd.

Currently, Leyu Nursing is preparing for its Series A financing round. In September 2016, version 2.0 of the Leyu Nursing WeChat platform is set to be released, with a full public launch expected in October this year. Chen Zhengdong stated that the company will next continue to strengthen its caregiver training module, focusing on rehabilitation, neurosurgery, and orthopedics, to accumulate seed customers in the post-acute rehabilitation market and strive to expand its presence across China.