Special Nursing Home 'Uneme no Sato' in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture: Utilizing Doctor Mate Reduces Nurse Overtime by Approximately 75% and Resident Hospitalization Days by 22%
The special nursing home "Uneme no Sato" in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture, implemented Doctor Mate's medical solutions, resulting in a reduction of nurse overtime by approximately 75% and resident hospitalization days by 22%. This contributes to sustainable work practices and improved quality of care in elderly care settings.
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- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 23:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 14:31
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Doctor Mate Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and Doctor: Naoki Aoyagi), which provides medical solutions for elderly care facilities, announced that Social Welfare Corporation Eikokai Special Nursing Home Uneme no Sato (Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture; Director: Takahiro Noro) introduced Doctor Mate's services in December 2020. Since its introduction, the number of hospitalization days for facility residents has decreased by 22%, and the overtime hours for facility nurses have improved to approximately one-quarter compared to before the introduction. This has achieved sustainable working practices in elderly care facilities.
Problems occurring in night-time elderly care settings
The biggest reasons why night-time operations in elderly care facilities are considered harsh are "overwhelming staff shortages," where a small number of people must supervise a large floor, and "mental pressure," where decisions must be made without medical professionals present. In many facilities, nurses go home at night, and only care staff attend to dozens of residents. If a resident's condition suddenly changes at night, care staff, with limited numbers, must decide whether to "wake up a nurse or doctor at home by phone" or "call an ambulance immediately." In addition to physical factors, the anxiety of making life-threatening decisions without someone to consult is a major factor exhausting the elderly care workforce. On the other hand, for facility nurses, night-time on-call standby and call-outs also lead to psychological and physical burdens.
At the heart of Japan's "2040 Problem" is a severe shortage of workers due to a rapid decline in the working-age population. While securing night-time nurses is expected to become even more difficult, the need for night-time medical judgment continues to increase as residents' conditions become more severe.
Background of introduction and gradual efforts towards establishment
From December 2020, Uneme no Sato introduced Doctor Mate's "Daytime Medical Consultation*1" and "Night-time On-Call Proxy™*2" services. Before the introduction, due to the aging of residents and the increasing severity of care needs, night-time on-calls, emergency dispatches, and accompaniment to outpatient visits increased, coupled with nurse turnover and absenteeism, which became a serious mental and temporal burden on staff. Additionally, the requirement for night-time on-call response was a condition for hiring nurses, which limited the number of applicants.
To introduce Doctor Mate, the facility went through a phased process including issue organization, tool preparation, demonstrations using call examples, and trial operations to achieve full-scale implementation. Especially for foreign staff, the facility itself prepared auxiliary tools using translations and diagrams, creating a system that all staff could utilize.
Hospitalization rate of facility residents also decreased
The introduction of "Daytime Medical Consultation," which allows care staff to send photos taken with their smartphones via chat to receive advice on treatment or visits from dermatology specialists, not only provided timely medical judgments and reduced the burden of visits and transportation but also led to the prevention of severe conditions through early response to changes in residents' health. Furthermore, utilizing the records of daytime medical consultations for training and education has strengthened on-site capabilities.
With "Night-time On-Call Proxy™," where a medical team takes over emergency phone calls and makes decisions on emergency transport or gives on-site instructions when facility nurses are absent at night, the accuracy of condition assessment has improved through consultations using videos in addition to phone calls, significantly reducing the number of night-time checks by nurses.
These systemic improvements have resulted in a 22% reduction in hospitalization days for facility residents, and even during periods of increased hospitalizations, the number of hospitalization days decreased, demonstrating concrete results in preventing severe conditions among residents. Both care staff and nurses report that the psychological barrier to night-time work has been reduced.
Nurse overtime reduced by approximately 75%, preventing turnover and expanding recruitment
According to the Kanagawa Prefecture "FY2021 Survey on the Employment Status of Nursing Staff," the turnover rate for full-time nursing staff in special nursing homes is 21.6%. In contrast, by entrusting night-time on-call duties to Doctor Mate and establishing work-life balance for nurses, Uneme no Sato has successfully recruited 6 new nurses since FY22, with a turnover rate of only 4%.
With the introduction of Doctor Mate, nurses have reported feeling "no night-time restrictions, allowing them to balance childcare and elderly care" and "accurate and reassuring responses," leading to nurse overtime being reduced by approximately 75% compared to before the introduction.
As a result, not only has the desire to continue working improved, but recruitment costs, such as those for talent introduction and job postings, have also decreased. Furthermore, enabling staff to concentrate on daytime duties and strengthening medical-care collaboration has allowed for early response to changes in residents' health, leading to improved quality of care, such as suppression of hospitalization days and reassuring end-of-life care.
Supporting nurses in balancing work and family
A nurse with 12 years of service at the facility was asked about the changes after the introduction of Doctor Mate's services.
"Doctor Mate's service...
Problems occurring in night-time elderly care settings
The biggest reasons why night-time operations in elderly care facilities are considered harsh are "overwhelming staff shortages," where a small number of people must supervise a large floor, and "mental pressure," where decisions must be made without medical professionals present. In many facilities, nurses go home at night, and only care staff attend to dozens of residents. If a resident's condition suddenly changes at night, care staff, with limited numbers, must decide whether to "wake up a nurse or doctor at home by phone" or "call an ambulance immediately." In addition to physical factors, the anxiety of making life-threatening decisions without someone to consult is a major factor exhausting the elderly care workforce. On the other hand, for facility nurses, night-time on-call standby and call-outs also lead to psychological and physical burdens.
At the heart of Japan's "2040 Problem" is a severe shortage of workers due to a rapid decline in the working-age population. While securing night-time nurses is expected to become even more difficult, the need for night-time medical judgment continues to increase as residents' conditions become more severe.
Background of introduction and gradual efforts towards establishment
From December 2020, Uneme no Sato introduced Doctor Mate's "Daytime Medical Consultation*1" and "Night-time On-Call Proxy™*2" services. Before the introduction, due to the aging of residents and the increasing severity of care needs, night-time on-calls, emergency dispatches, and accompaniment to outpatient visits increased, coupled with nurse turnover and absenteeism, which became a serious mental and temporal burden on staff. Additionally, the requirement for night-time on-call response was a condition for hiring nurses, which limited the number of applicants.
To introduce Doctor Mate, the facility went through a phased process including issue organization, tool preparation, demonstrations using call examples, and trial operations to achieve full-scale implementation. Especially for foreign staff, the facility itself prepared auxiliary tools using translations and diagrams, creating a system that all staff could utilize.
Hospitalization rate of facility residents also decreased
The introduction of "Daytime Medical Consultation," which allows care staff to send photos taken with their smartphones via chat to receive advice on treatment or visits from dermatology specialists, not only provided timely medical judgments and reduced the burden of visits and transportation but also led to the prevention of severe conditions through early response to changes in residents' health. Furthermore, utilizing the records of daytime medical consultations for training and education has strengthened on-site capabilities.
With "Night-time On-Call Proxy™," where a medical team takes over emergency phone calls and makes decisions on emergency transport or gives on-site instructions when facility nurses are absent at night, the accuracy of condition assessment has improved through consultations using videos in addition to phone calls, significantly reducing the number of night-time checks by nurses.
These systemic improvements have resulted in a 22% reduction in hospitalization days for facility residents, and even during periods of increased hospitalizations, the number of hospitalization days decreased, demonstrating concrete results in preventing severe conditions among residents. Both care staff and nurses report that the psychological barrier to night-time work has been reduced.
Nurse overtime reduced by approximately 75%, preventing turnover and expanding recruitment
According to the Kanagawa Prefecture "FY2021 Survey on the Employment Status of Nursing Staff," the turnover rate for full-time nursing staff in special nursing homes is 21.6%. In contrast, by entrusting night-time on-call duties to Doctor Mate and establishing work-life balance for nurses, Uneme no Sato has successfully recruited 6 new nurses since FY22, with a turnover rate of only 4%.
With the introduction of Doctor Mate, nurses have reported feeling "no night-time restrictions, allowing them to balance childcare and elderly care" and "accurate and reassuring responses," leading to nurse overtime being reduced by approximately 75% compared to before the introduction.
As a result, not only has the desire to continue working improved, but recruitment costs, such as those for talent introduction and job postings, have also decreased. Furthermore, enabling staff to concentrate on daytime duties and strengthening medical-care collaboration has allowed for early response to changes in residents' health, leading to improved quality of care, such as suppression of hospitalization days and reassuring end-of-life care.
Supporting nurses in balancing work and family
A nurse with 12 years of service at the facility was asked about the changes after the introduction of Doctor Mate's services.
"Doctor Mate's service...