Interview with KIN Rehab Executive: Advancing Healthcare and Medical Services
Expanding into the Aging Society MarketSME in Focus, Bangkok Bank
‘Service’: The Key to Business Development
Today’s diverse healthcare and medical needs have driven the development of many businesses designed to meet market demand. Their key tool is ‘service.’ Therefore, even without being a medical professional, a person can become an entrepreneur providing healthcare and medical services. The ideas of these business owners are gradually creating new standards for access to modern healthcare and medical services.
“I graduated in Animal Science from the Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University.”
Mr. Thongchai Chokthanomsap, Managing Director of T3 Stroke Nursing Home Co., Ltd. and KIN Origin Health Care Co., Ltd. a comprehensive healthcare and medical service provider, said that he had previously worked in various fields, including livestock—the subject he studied—as well as online publication sales and property rental. Learning about real estate introduced him to nursing homes and elderly care facilities.
He later invested with a business partner in a Nursing Home business offering standard, affordable services. However, price limitations restricted further investment and development in healthcare. In 2019, the business model was therefore transformed into a stroke rehabilitation center providing physical therapy and rehabilitation for patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke following hospital treatment.
The Stroke Rehabilitation Center provides accommodation for stroke patients, with nurses and nursing assistants providing care, together with rehabilitation by experienced physical therapists. Medical services were subsequently added, with physicians specializing in stroke providing further care and guidance.
The Eastville Borirak Caregiver School was also established to develop personnel with the knowledge and skills required to care for patients and older adults. The organization has therefore become a comprehensive specialty rehabilitation service provider. It has also applied online marketing knowledge and advertising through modern platforms, making its services easier for clients to access.
Why Stroke?
Mr. Thongchai said that he regarded older adults as the main target market. His first business was therefore a nursing home or elderly care facility. Although it began as a modest, affordable operation, it became an important foundation for business expansion, supported by the global megatrend of an aging society, including in Thailand. A 2021 national population survey recorded 13,358,751 people aged 60 or over, accounting for 19.6% of the population, indicating that Thailand was approaching a fully aged society.
*(A fully aged society is one in which people aged 60 or above account for more than 20% of the total population.)
However, it must be acknowledged that, initially, the affordable Nursing Home model did not sufficiently support business expansion, or the timing may not yet have been right. The next stage of diversification therefore focused on therapy and rehabilitation for specific conditions, particularly patients with Stroke Rehabilitation Center, because a market gap was identified. The number of these patients has continued to increase, and stroke remains one of the leading causes of death.
Hospital treatment and post-treatment recovery remain highly costly when patients must continue recuperating in hospital. The Golden Period for Stroke refers to the first 3–6 months after a stroke, an important period for treatment and rehabilitation. Receiving appropriate care during this time can support faster recovery and help patients regain as much independence and normal daily function as possible.
The services provided by a Stroke Rehabilitation Center therefore offer another ‘option’ that can reduce unnecessary hospital-related costs and procedures by two to three times, providing a more accessible price compared with continued hospital care.
This concept emerged from recognizing an opportunity, a market gap, and the pain points of stroke patients, and then developing a business that matched market needs at that time. Older adults remain another important target group, and the nursing home business continues to operate.
Expanding Comprehensive Healthcare and Rehabilitation Services
Mr. Thongchai expanded the business by establishing KIN Rehabilitation & Homecare, a comprehensive health, care, and physical rehabilitation service center comprising a physical therapy hospital, a Stroke Rehabilitation Center, a multidisciplinary stroke clinic (Stroke), orthopedics, physical therapy, anti-aging medicine, mental health, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Thai medicine, health technology (Health Tech), and an elderly care center (Nursing Home) for recovering and bedridden patients, offering both short-term and long-term care. These services are being expanded further into the older-adult market under the ‘KIN’ brand, including:
KIN Wellness is a rehabilitation and wellness center staffed by specialist physicians and experts in anti-aging and aesthetic medicine. Its service lines support older adults in areas such as brain health, musculoskeletal conditions, and maintaining overall physical wellness. Services include medical care, physical therapy, post-treatment rehabilitation, and psychiatric care.
Mental health issues that affect daily life are also common among older adults, including insomnia, depression, and stress. Guidance is provided to family members so they can better understand symptoms and the impact of caregiving. Aesthetic and traditional Chinese medicine services are also available.
The ‘KIN’ Rehabilitation Medicine Center at Prasanmit Hospital is a public-sector collaboration operating a physical therapy clinic to support older civil servants. Services are provided on the ground floor of Building 4 at Prasanmit Hospital.
KIN Home Care provides physical therapists, occupational therapists, and nurses for in-home care when patients are unable to travel, are bedridden, or are recovering after treatment. It also provides premium home-based care for older adults and patients under KIN’s supervision.
Kin Origin Healthcare Center Physical Therapy Hospital
A joint venture between Origin Healthcare Co., Ltd. a subsidiary of Origin Property Public Company Limited and KIN Rehabilitation & Homecare established KIN Origin Healthcare Co., Ltd. to operate a physical therapy hospital and medical clinic under the name Kin Origin Healthcare Center The first branch opened at Origin Wellness Complex Sukhumvit 107, while the second branch in the Ramintra area was scheduled to open at the end of the following year. This operation is structured as a joint venture between the two businesses.
Mr. Thongchai said that the different service formats create opportunities and diversify investment in comprehensive healthcare and medical services, particularly for the older-adult market. These include standard, affordable elderly residences and KIN Home Care, which provides more premium home care for older adults and patients, with enhanced medical and service standards to support Thailand’s transition into an aging society.
Opportunities in Thailand’s Aging Market
Mr. Thongchai believes that the business’s next major focus will be the development of Nursing Home He expects the Thai market to grow tenfold over the next ten years, based on market statistics, trends, and various contributing factors. It is also a global megatrend.
In the Wellness sector, the market still has substantial room for growth, and further investment is planned. Nevertheless, elderly care remains the foundation of the core business. The two areas will complement each other to meet customer needs through integrated, comprehensive services, together with cooperation from business partners to improve service efficiency.
However, the market’s growth has attracted more new entrants. Expanding the service network can create economies of scale in management and resource sharing, improve efficiency, and reduce operating costs, including personnel-related expenses.
A ‘Service’ Mindset Begins with People
Mr. Thongchai explained that operating a caregiver school as part of the business makes it possible to manage and establish internal standards. Graduates can apply their knowledge in careers that interest them or use it as a foundation for further professional development. Overall, the school serves as a small but meaningful mechanism for improving and raising the standards of healthcare personnel who care for older adults.
A caring attitude is fundamental to service work and is instilled in every cohort at the school. The six-month short course emphasizes service standards. The center also uses shorter work shifts to reduce stress among personnel caring for patients and older adults, because prolonged continuous work can create accumulated stress and affect service quality.
Future Goals and Growth
Under the expansion plan, the company intends to invest in at least one new service center per year to achieve coverage throughout Bangkok and the surrounding metropolitan area. In the long term, it plans to establish specialty hospitals, such as a geriatric hospital and a rehabilitation medicine hospital, to provide more comprehensive services across every dimension. The wellness business may require further observation of market trends because several investment factors must be considered.
For the Wellness tourism market, serving international visitors during the tourism season or customers with high purchasing power may be viable in the short term. Pursuing it seriously, however, may not be easy because relevant laws must be considered carefully. The business aims to develop the most comprehensive service model possible. Therefore, when a market shows strong future potential, the company may expand in that direction, form collaborative networks, or work with public agencies facing shortages of medical personnel.
“We develop our business from the service user’s perspective. For this reason, our healthcare and medical services focus on providing the greatest possible convenience to everyone who uses them.” Mr. Thongchai concluded.
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