Int.Home Care &
Rehabilitation Exhibition

The three-day exhibition, H.C.R. 2006 opened with opening announcement by Ritsuko Nagao, the chairperson for the Japan National Council of Social Welfare.Doors opened after the ceremony with attendance of Mr. Christian Carstensen (H.C.R. Europe Coordinator), Mr. Tom Borcherding (H.C.R. North America Coordinator) and Mr. Akira Suetsugu (President of Health and Welfare Information Association).

More than 25,000 home care and rehabilitation equipment was exhibited by 554 Japanese companies and 78 overseas companies from 15 countries and 1 territory.From early morning there was a continuous flow of many visitors to the exhibition, trying out the equipment and consulting with exhibitors with great interest.

Special area was set up where a comprehensive range of about 100 home care and rehabilitation equipment for children was on exhibit for children to try out products with their parents assistance.Educational equipment and communication equipment were displayed, as well as wheelchairs and daily living aids.Also consultation was available at no charge on various topics such as usage of home care and rehabilitation equipment, child raising from medical point of view and education.

New programs for specialists in the social welfare and care fields were held at the conference rooms on the 6th floor.The objective was for participants to develop skills and to acquire knowledge and information including new systems and policies for care of the elderly, the physically, emotionally and mentally challenged on a variety of issues such as for the emotionally challenged and foreign workers in the medical and social welfare fields.They were must-see programs for those who work in the social welfare and care fields.Materials for the programs were sold for 1,000 yen.

The programs for September 27 were “Supporting the Emotionally Challenged at Social Welfare Facilities (eg., Nursing Care Homes, Facilities for the Needy Physically, Emotionally and Intellectually Challenged, and Single Mother Families),” “Foreign Workers in the Medical and Social Welfare Sectors in Germany and the Netherlands” and “Prospects of Environmental Social Welfare Activities – New Developments in Recycling;” September 28: “Social Welfare Facilities and Appointment System for Facilities Management” and “Care Services for the Elderly and Report on Claims;” and September 29: “The Elderly Abuse Prevention Law and its Operations,” “Law to Support the Independence of Persons with Disabilities and Their Living” and “Accident Prevention at Facilities for the Elderly and Physically Challenged.”

International Symposium “Structure of Systems to Support the Independence of the Physically, Mentally and Emotionally Challenged (Europe)” was successfully held.
With the increasing attention in enforcement of the law to support the independence of the physically challenged, the guest speakers who were invited from Denmark and the Netherlands presented the policy trends and the issues on the policies for the physically challenged.After their presentations a Japanese guest speaker, Ms. Tatsuko Yamamoto (executive director of Tenryu-Kohseikai), hosted a discussion to consider the policies including those in Japan.

A special seminar “How to Select and Use Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment” was held, which gained great popularity last year. Specialists in eight different fields provided simple, easy-to-understand explanations about how to select and use home care and rehabilitation equipment properly. They were must-see programs for those who work in care management. The programs of September 27th were　“Toilet, Diapers, Excretion”, “Cars” and “Beds”; September 28th: “Bathing”, “Wheelchairs” and “Daily Living Aids”; September 29th: “Communication” and “Home Renovation”. A supplementary reader “How to Select and Use Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment” was sold for 100 yen.

Workshops and seminars in 70 different topics were presented by exhibitors to provide visitors with the latest information.

At the reception party we presented appreciation awards to two overseas companies and seven Japanese companies which participated in our H.C.R. exhibitions fifteen times in the past.

Overseas Companies

Scantal Textile A/S (Denmark)
Sunrise Medical Technologias S.A. de C.V. (Mexico)

Japanese Companies

ACCESS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
K.HOSPIA CO., LTD.
SARAYA CO.,LTD.
DAIDO KOGYO CO., LTD.
TOKAI KIKI KOGYO CO., LTD.
TOYO SEIKO Co., Ltd.
Livedo Corporation

The number of visitors on the second day was 44,047. From the morning of the second day we had a continuous flow of visitors coming to our exhibition and the exhibition halls were filled with visitors. Exhibitors were promoting and providing enthusiastic visitors with explanations for their products and were unconscious of the passage of time.

International Symposium “History and Current Situation of Elder Abuse Prevention Legislation in the U.S.A.” was successfully held.A guest speaker was invited from the U.S.A. and presented the history and related issues of Elder Abuse Prevention Legislation in the U.S.A. where the relevant legislation was recently brought to effect.After his presentation a Japanese guest speaker, Mr. Toshio Tatara (professor of ShukutokuUniversity), hosted a discussion to consider the background of introducing the policy.

We presented a special program on the theme “Meal,” which brings pleasure and health to your daily life.A master chef offered a lecture on the theme “Delicious, Easy to Prepare, Delightful Meals.”He made a presentation to introduce recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner based on French cuisine, and provided useful tips when cooking these recipes.Also a dietitian gave some advice for those who are diabetic or hypertensive.

International Symposium “Sumatra Offshore Earthquake and Children in Asia” was successfully held.Guest speakers who are taking active roles as leaders of private social welfare organizations in the areas devastated by the Sumatra offshore earthquake and tsunami in December of 2004 were invited.They presented support for the victims, the current reconstruction situation and the related issues in the areas, as well as the current situation and issues confronting children in Asia.After their presentations a Japanese guest speaker, Mr. Masao Takatsuka (manager of the Home for Learning Difficulties “Nakamatachi”), hosted a discussion to deepen the audiences’ understanding of the speeches.

We drew to a successful close with 130,627 visitors over the three days.