There are currently 18 Veteran Care Homes in Taiwan. After the 1949 defeat of the KMT government, large number of soldiers migrated from China to Taiwan. Various ways were initiated to help the re-settlement of these soldiers, such as factories, farms, and occupation training facilities, to keep these soldiers from further uproar. In 1953, four Care Homes were established for the disabled and the old veterans. For about 50 years, a political overcoat had been cast upon the Veteran Care Homes and care in these big institutions was considered charity by the KMD government. Large scaled institutional care also excluded the old and disabled veterans from the society. However, as the ageing of the WWII soldiers continues, the original residents in these Homes have gradually expired, which created a tremendous treat to the survival of these Homes. In the mean time, democratization has strengthened the welfare rights and consumer rights of the remained veterans. In order to face the multiple challenges and to compete in the care service market, the Veteran Care Homes have gone through a series of reforms since 2000, earmarked by three times of comprehensive evaluations. This paper will introduce the history and the reform of the Veteran Care Homes in the 21st century and report on how the Veteran Care Homes have transformed their culture from charity to quality care. Data collected from the three comprehensive evaluations will be analyzed in six areas: organizational administration and management, life care and professional services, service facilities and safety measures, protection for resident rights, reforms and improvements, and bonus questions. Indicators used in the evaluations were originally designed by the Central Governemt to evaluate the non-veteran public and private elderly care homes.
Full paper download: Yang P_veterans care homes.pdf