年长的亚裔美国人搬离家庭入住养老社区

AS IT IS 2015-09-17 Older Asian-Americans Moving Away From Home 年长的亚裔美国人搬离家庭入住养老社区

Americans with older parents often struggle about how to house those family members.

When should elderly parents leave their home? Should they move into a retirement¹ community or stay with their children’s family?

For Asian Americans, the idea of a retirement home often goes against traditional ways of taking care of elders. So it may be surprising to learn that two companies are spending millions of dollars to create more housing choices for Chinese elders.

And there is a high demand for such special housing for the elderly.

Development manager Brian Palmore tells about the luxury retirement home he is building near Seattle.

"This would be the main dining area. Directly behind us is where the Zen garden will be..."

Special care for Chinese retirees

Aegis⁴ Living is a company that builds housing for the elderly. The company hopes to attract Chinese-Americans and Chinese immigrants to buy space in this $50-million retirement community.

"Right next to the sports den³, we have the Mahjong room, gaming room..."

There will be 100 housing units in the building. Some other features include multilingual nurses, "chair Tai Chi," a tea room, Asian food and a Chinese multicultural⁵ center. Aegis Living founder⁶ and CEO Dwayne Clark says demographic research found that many people want senior care that fits well with their culture.

"There's 92,000 Chinese-Americans within 25 miles. There are 30,000 within seven miles. I said, 'You're kidding.' I couldn't believe that."

Planning well from the start

The builders began thinking of how to honor cultural traditions from the early stages. Clark said his company brought in a Feng Shui expert to review the site plans.  The development has been named Aegis Gardens. Residents will pay $15,000 to $60,000 to move in. Monthly rents for its luxury apartments will be as high as $8,000.

Across Lake Washington in southeast Seattle, construction is also underway. A nonprofit called Kin² On is spending about $7 million to expand its nursing home into a campus. When completed, it will provide various housing options for elderly Asian immigrants. Most qualify for government financial assistance.

Sam Wan⁷ has been Kin On's director for 30 years. In the halls, one can hear conversations in Cantonese and Mandarin⁸...

...but Wan remembers at the beginning. People did not believe that Chinese families would put their elders in a nursing home.

Cultural traditions of caring for older people

"The newer immigrants would be considering having their elders stay at their home. They live together, three generations together. The nursing home phenomenon is a pretty much a Western type of culture (thing)."

Pam Tsai and her sister thought that way. The women looked after their elderly mother. But when mom, who doesn't speak English, needed skilled nursing care, they turned to Kin On.

"My ma, she likes Chinese food. She talks Cantonese. She likes it here."

Because Kin On meets those needs, the family finds it acceptable.

Across town, Aegis Living leader Mr. Clark remembers similar conversations.

"I remember meeting with this one woman who was an executive, a  high-tech executive. And she said, 'You know, Dwayne. I spent almost $200,000 going to Stanford and getting my undergraduate degree and my MBA. I don't know that I want to stay at home and take care of my mother-in-law. I want to put my MBA to work.' And she said, 'I think this is an idea whose time has come.'"

Better than at home

He says that Aegis Living wants to make living in their retirement home better for seniors than staying at home.

"If you're the best, then the guilt⁹ of people having their mom and dad in this place will dissipate. It will go away."

Many other assisted living or retirement homes try to match the culture of Asian seniors in the city. Seattle Keiro opened in 1976 for Japanese elders, and the pan-Asian Legacy¹⁰ House has operated since 1998.

Words in This Story

elderly – n. old or rather old : past middle age

retirement home – n. a place where people who no longer work can live and sometimes be taken care of

nursing – n. the job of taking care of people who are sick, injured, or old

multilingual - adj. able to speak and understand several languages

Tai Chi - n. a Chinese form of exercise that uses very slow and controlled movements

senior – adj. of, relating to, or designed for older people

Feng Shui – n. a Chinese system for positioning a building and the objects within a building in a way that is thought to agree with spiritual forces and to bring health and happiness

nursing home – n. a place where people who are old or who are unable to take care of themselves can live and be taken care of

campus - n. the grounds  and buildings of an institution, especially a college or other institution of learning, a hospital, or a corporation

assisted living - n. a system that provides a place to live and medical care for people (such as elderly or disabled people) who need help with daily activities

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

3 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 aegis   

n.盾；保护，庇护

参考例句：

• Medical supplies are flied in under the aegis of the red cross.在红十字会的保护下，正在空运进医药用品。
• The space programme will continue under the aegis of the armed forces.这项太空计划将以武装部队作后盾继续进行。

5 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

8 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

9 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。