Int.Home Care &
Rehabilitation Exhibition

H.C.R. 2009 opened with remarks by Juro Saito, the chairperson for the Japan National Council of Social Welfare. Joining Mr. Saito for the opening ceremony were Mr. Christian Carstensen (H.C.R. Europe Coordinator) from Denmark, Mr. Tom Borcherding (H.C.R. North American Coordinator) from U.S.A. and Mr. Kazuhiro Kobayashi (President of Health and Welfare Information Association). The doors were opened to the exhibit halls following the ceremony.

438 Japanese companies and 53 overseas companies representing 13 countries and 1 territory presented more than 20,000 home care and rehabilitation equipment products. From the very opening of the exhibition each day, there was a continuous flow of many interested visitors trying out the equipment and consulting with exhibitors.

In recent years, R&D for Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment using the latest technology such as the human engineering ergonomics has been promoted to expand the possibilities for the elderly and disabled population. Today the development of Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment continues but with additional emphasis on reducing costs and simplifying functionality. Such exciting technology was on display throughout this year’s exhibition.

We also provided two seminars with themes of “Prevention of Low Back Pain and Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment” and “Communication Using Equipment at Home.” For the former, we aimed at providing information to facility staff who suffer from low back pain by introducing equipment that protects against such low back pain. For the latter, we introduced the communication possibilities supported by mobile phones and personal computers that enhance independent living.

Once again, a special area was set up where a comprehensive range of home care and rehabilitation equipment for children was on exhibit. Educational equipment and communication equipment were displayed, as well as wheelchairs and aids to daily living. Since children and their parents could try out these products this corner drew a great deal of interest. Consultation was also available at no charge on various topics such as proper use of home care and rehabilitation equipment, raising children from a medical point of view, and education.

Throughout the exhibition we held a wide variety of programs with such themes as Home Care & Rehabilitation, Nursing Care, and Cooking & Recipe. These programs were designed to enhance the quality of life for people who rely upon home care and rehabilitation equipment, and to provide education to those engaged in social welfare and nursing care.

The following additional programs were presented for specialists working at social welfare institutions:
“Essential of Abuse Prevention Measures at Welfare Institutions for Disabled People”
“The Useful Idea of the Service Developed On-site for Residents of the Facility”
“Prevention of In-hospital Infection and Effective Use of Sodium Hypochlorite Solution”, and “Understand the Current Situation and the Variety of Types of Facilities for the Elderly”.

We introduced arranging meals with the ready-made foods or the convenience store lunch with actual demonstrations.

A special seminar, “How to Select and Use Home Care & Rehabilitation Equipment”, was once again very popular. Specialists provided simple, easy-to-understand explanations about how to select and use home care and rehabilitation equipment.

Programs offered on day 1 of the exhibition were “Car Related Aids”, “Communication”, and “Self-help Device”. Day 2 programs were “Bathing”, “Toilet, Diapers, Excretion”, and “Home Renovation”. Day 3 programs were “Beds”, “Lifts and Mobility Products”, “Canes and Walking Aids”, and “Wheelchairs.”

Workshops and seminars covering 63 different topics were presented by exhibitors to provide visitors with the latest information.

At the reception party on Tuesday evening we presented appreciation awards to1 international company and 14 Japanese companies who have all participated in our H.C.R. exhibition for fifteen years.

International Company
Invacare Dolomite AB (Sweden)

Japanese Companies
ART TECHNICA Co,
KATAKURA INDUSTRIES CO., LTD.
CARE – MEDICS CO., LTD.,
Research Institute of National Rehabilitation center for Persons with Disabilities,
GOKEI INDUSTRY CO., LTD
KOS INTERNATIONAL CORP.
COMBI WELLNESS Corporation
TAKANO CO., LTD.
TiG Co., Ltd
HANAOKA SHARYO CO., LTD.
Panasonic Corporation
Bic Ban Co.
Mazda Motor Corporation
WAKO INDUSTRY CO., LTD. LIFT DIVISION

The number of visitors on the second day was 35,161. In spite of rain in the morning, we had a continuous flow of visitors filling the exhibition halls. Exhibitors provided enthusiastic visitors with demonstrations of their products. The total number of visitors on the first and second days was 69,004.

Economically, it has long been stated that one of the main reasons for declining birthrates was the growing female labor force participation. However, we could find the increase of fertility rates in some European countries where societies or governments provided active supports for female labor force participation and reviewed the traditional gender role on the family. We invited Dr. Livia Sz. Olah from Stockholm University, Sweden and had her lecture about European countries’ recent countermeasures against declining birthrates by comparing data from specific countries. Then our guest tutor, Ms. Noriko Sakakibara, a staff writer for Yomiuri Shinbun (Newspaper) led the question-and-answer session with a description of the Japanese situation while summing up the lecture.

H.C.R. 2009 drew to a successful close with 107,911 visitors during the three days.