NUCLEAR FACILITY: More than 5,000 people would be eligible for check-ups, which would include physicals, medical tests and assessments, the health ministry said
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
A comprehensive health assessment and care program is to be established on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
The program, which is to be run in collaboration with the Taitung County Government, is expected to benefit about 5,300 people, the ministry said.
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said that with the Executive Yuan’s support and NT$91.21 million (US$2.81 million) from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, his ministry would launch the health assessment and holistic care program on Nov. 1.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Asenay Daliyalrep, left, shakes hands with Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang at a meeting in Taitung County yesterday.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
From 1982 to 1996 nearly 100,000 barrels of low-level radioactive waste were delivered to a nuclear waste facility on Orchid Island operated by state-run Taiwan Power Co. Local residents have been concerned about its health effects.
The program would provide health assessment services to all residents of Orchid Island and workers who participated in the inspection and repacking operations at the storage site, the health ministry said.
It is expected to cover about 2,032 households and more than 5,300 people whose household registration is on the outlying island, it said.
The health assessments would include physical examinations, risk-factor assessments, blood and urine tests, tumor marker tests and imaging examinations, it said.
The services would mainly be provided at the Lanyu Township Health Center, with a supporting medical team of more than 20 healthcare professionals deployed from Taitung MacKay Memorial Hospital, it said.
Nurses would make home visits to assess residents’ healthcare needs, provide health consultations and education, and assist in scheduling health exams, it added.
Case management, follow-up medical visits and referral services would be offered to people with abnormal check-up results, establishing a holistic care model, the health ministry said.
Eligible recipients living in Taiwan proper can take their ID card and National Health Insurance card to one of 18 designated hospitals to get the health check-up, it said.
To help ease the financial burden on residents who face reduced income due to time off work to get health exams, the program provides a subsidy of NT$2,050, comprising a NT$1,650 wage replacement allowance and NT$400 for meal expenses, for everyone who completes the process, it said.
Separately, Shih and Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) in Taipei yesterday announced the establishment of a healthcare sustainability cocreation alliance, aimed to address climate change challenges and the healthcare needs of an aging society.
More than 200 organizations — including healthcare facilities, public health bureaus and medical professional associations — have joined the alliance, the health ministry said as it unveiled a blueprint for sustainable healthcare institutions focusing on six key areas.
The Presidential Office established the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee and the National Climate Change Committee, with the health ministry playing a role in all three committees, Shih said.
In addressing climate change challenges and sustainable development, the healthcare system cannot stand on the sidelines, so two main strategic directions have been established: digital transformation and green sustainability, he said.
Since 2024, the Department of Medical Affairs has instructed about 100 healthcare facilities in conducting greenhouse gas inventories, assisted 50 in energy conservation management and subsidized 32 in training green healthcare professionals, he said.
The alliance would build a cross-agency, interdisciplinary dialogue platform on which hospitals can learn from one another rather than navigating carbon reduction alone, Shih said.
Hospitals often give the impression that they are major waste producers and carbon emitters, Peng said, adding that treating medical waste is expensive and energy-intensive, so his ministry would introduce circular economy solutions — helping hospitals boost recycling to cut carbon and costs.
The six key areas of the sustainability blueprint released yesterday are: sustainable governance and climate resilience, carbon management, energy and water resource management, low-carbon healthcare, green supply chains, and resource circulation and talent development.
It aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Additional reporting by CNA