The Health Insurance Department has taken the lead in promoting the "whole-person integrated care plan in rural areas" in Xiulin Township, Hualien County since 2022, establishing a resident-centered care network through cooperation with hospitals, health clinics, grassroots clinics and local community resources. In 2025, the plan has been expanded to 6 divisions and 9 implementation areas across the country; in 2026, 5 Huadong areas including Wanrong Township, Zhuoxi Township, and Fengbin Township in Hualien County, and Haiduan Township and Ludao Township in Taitung County have been added. So far, it covers 14 townships and towns in 8 counties and cities in Taiwan. The direction of care has also shifted from simply "filling the medical gap" to a five-dimensional care model of "whole person, whole process, whole team, whole family, and whole health", which emphasizes preventive care, health promotion, community care and the integration of medical services, and gradually builds a localized care network that is closer to the needs of rural areas. Our reporters went to mountainous areas, seaside and other rural areas to understand the actual results of care, and interviewed these doctors, nurses and related personnel who are working silently in rural areas.
Line group connects doctors and patients in mountainous areas and preventive medical treatment is in place at the same time
[Reporter Yu Tailang/Hualien Report] Hualien County Xiulin Township Health Center and Tzu Chi Hospital have cooperated in implementing IDS for nearly 30 years, and have invested in the most difficult "whole-person integrated care plan" along the Zhongheng Highway and Zhongheng Mountain District. Although affected by the 0403 strong earthquake, the eastern section of the Zhongheng Highway (Dayu Ridge to Tarokokou) ) is still under emergency repair, but medical staff have overcome all difficulties and assisted the care recipients of various mountainous tribes (not limited to themselves, or contacted by their children or relatives and friends) to establish Line groups to accurately grasp the opportunities for medical treatment and visits, so that prevention and medical treatment can be implemented as synchronized as possible, and it has gradually been implemented as a bridge of mutual trust between doctors and patients.
"My tribe needs me" Taroko physician Liu Yulun protects the Zhongheng tribe after the earthquake
Liu Yulun, a 53-year-old doctor at the Xiulin Township Health Center, is a Taroko tribesman in the local Fushi Village. He applied for return service from the Fenglin Town Health Center 13 years ago. His only belief is that "the tribe needs me, and it's time to go home to protect them." The Fushi Village where he grew up has jurisdiction from Tarokokou to Tarokokou. Xiaofengkou is the largest village in the country. In the past, "it took a whole day for the tribesmen to go back and forth to see a doctor. Many people would rather endure the pain and not go down the mountain!" Every time he thinks about this, his heart ache. Protecting the health of the tribesmen in Zhongheng and Taroko Mountains has become his lifelong wish.
Prepare medicine in the dark and wait to go into the mountains. Every medical visit is a struggle for life.
He said that diagnosis and treatment in remote mountainous areas of Zhongheng are carried out at the Tianxiang Clinic every two weeks. After the 0403 strong earthquake, the eastern section of Zhongheng was severely damaged, and construction required traffic control in sections every day. He, nurses and assistants prepared medical equipment and emergency medicine at the clinic before dawn. After taking the STD medicine, we arrived in the dark at the control point in front of the Eunuch Office and waited to enter the mountainous area. While driving, we had to pay attention to the mountain walls and road conditions along the way. Liu Yulun said that each visit to the clinic was "like a struggle for life," but when he heard the patient's cordial greeting, "Good morning, Dr. Liu! It's great to see you!" it was all worth it!
In addition to the regular clinic visits every two weeks at the Tianxiang Clinic, including more remote settlements such as Xiaofengkou, Dayuling, Luoshao and Xibao, the health center and Tzu Chi Hospital also divide their work and visit patients with mobility difficulties every month to provide diagnosis, treatment and medication services; Xibao resident Ding Shuhui said that there are nearly 50 residents in the settlement, including Taroko aborigines, Lao Rong Residents, farmers who grow cold-cold vegetables, and foreign migrant workers, etc., whenever they feel sick, they immediately think of contacting the doctors at the health center. In the past, they could only call people and ask the doctors about their condition. Now the health center is enthusiastic about setting up a Line group, so that the condition and the situation of the tribe can be known in real time. Even if the transportation in Zhongheng is still inconvenient, working in the mountainous area no longer worries about the physical condition.
Taking protecting the people as a mission Taroko doctor: Like the mission entrusted by the ancestors
Buya, who lives in the Datong tribe in the Taroko Mountains, said that although there are only tribesmen running B&Bs on the mountain now, most of their elders have moved to Fushi Village down the mountain, and are directly treated and cared for by Dr. Liu Yulun at the Fushi Village clinic. In addition, since there are many mountaineers on the mountain, if they have temporary health conditions, they will contact them through Line to directly communicate their condition and request consultation and support. For them, the doctors at the health center have turned into "patron saints"!
Liu Yulun said that this job of protecting the tribe is both a sense of accomplishment and a mission. Even though there are not many patients who go up the mountain to see a doctor or visit each time, he can still do his part for them. Every time he goes down the mountain after a consultation, the corners of his mouth will unconsciously turn up with a smile. "I am a Taroko tribesman. I feel like the ancestors are delivering the work. It is a task and a sacred mission."
