Rehabilitation center for stroke patients opens in Minhang

Elderly stroke patients living in rural areas are in great need of rehabilitation therapy, said the head of a company that offers post-surgery care to such patients.

Pinetree China, a private company offering at-home care and other services for stroke patients, set up a rehabilitation center in Shanghai's suburban Minhang district Thursday.

"We plan to set up facilities in all nine suburban districts in Shanghai by establishing 100 service centers, having a team of 2,000 professionals who serve over 100,000 rural elderly," said Wang Yanni, head of Pinetree China. "Rural elderly have poor access to such therapy."

Stroke patients who receive early and effective rehabilitation training have a three times higher recovery rate than those who do not, she said.

About 70 percent of China's 200 million elderly people live in rural areas. Shanghai's proportion of elderly people is 8 to 10 percent higher than the national average.