Creating Anti-Bedsore Pillows: Okaya Lions Club
The Okaya Lions Club’s main activity, “Creating Anti-Bedsore Pillows,” is a long-standing club initiative with a 41-year history.
Bedsores (pressure ulcers) occur when a part of the body is compressed for extended periods due to being bedridden. Since bedsores can develop in just a few hours, it is said that using cushions and pressure-distributing bedding effectively is crucial for prevention. As a result, there is strong demand from many medical institutions.
Each year, we consult with local institutions—Okaya Municipal Hospital, Suwa Lakeside Hospital, and the Okaya City Council of Social Welfare—regarding the number of pillows needed. We then produce as many as possible to meet those needs and donate them. Recently, we have also begun distributing these pillows to members of the general public who need them, by announcing availability in local newspapers.
In recent years, rising prices and a decline in membership have made it more difficult to allocate sufficient budget to this activity. However, we have continued the project by utilizing DCG.
The production of these anti-bedsore pillows involves the full participation of our members. Over 50 members and their families take part in each session, working through the steps of cutting fabric, sewing pillowcases, ironing, filling with beads, and final stitching.
For the ironing process, we receive volunteer assistance from students at Tsutsujigaoka Gakuen, a local special needs school, which also serves as a form of support for the institution.
Last year, we distributed a total of 720 pillows: 210 to Okaya Municipal Hospital, 450 to Suwa Lakeside Hospital, 50 to the Okaya City Council of Social Welfare, and 10 to the general public.
As there is still no fundamental solution to bedsores, we hope that the pillows we make can bring even a small amount of comfort and relief to bedridden patients and elderly individuals in need.
This year as well, we plan to continue the project using DCG, with the hope of delivering anti-bedsore pillows to even more people.
On a personal note, I sewed pillowcases at home with my family. Later, my mother told me that my grandmother, who passed away two years ago, had received and used one of these pillows in the hospital. That made me feel deeply grateful to have been involved in this project. I sincerely hope we can continue this meaningful activity.
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