Achieving Zero Aspiration Pneumonia Through Accessible Oral Care: "Zero-Pro Award 2026" Celebrates the Achievements of Nursing Facilities

Cross Care Dental Co., Ltd. (Location: Fukuoka City, Representative Director: Hiroya Takiuchi, hereinafter referred to as "the Company"), which aims for zero aspiration pneumonia in the elderly through oral care by caregivers, will hold the "Zero-Pro Award 2026" as an initiative to recognize outstanding business operators and individuals in the "Zero Aspiration Pneumonia Project® (hereinafter referred to as Zero-Pro)" promoted by the Company. The Zero-Pro Award was launched to spread Zero-Pro and visualize high-quality nursing care providers, marking its 5th edition. Excellent operators and individuals will be recognized based on their achievements from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.

<Event Overview> Zero-Pro Award 2026 - Date and Time: June 16, 2026 (Tuesday) 13:30-14:30 - Format: Online via Zoom - Award Categories: [Facility Category] Zero Pneumonia Department / Phase Department / Seminar Attendance Department / Confirmation Exam Passing Department / Oral Care Implementation Department [Day-care Category] OHAT (Note 1) Department [Individual Category] Oral Care Implementation Status Department / Confirmation Exam Department - Remarks: Online viewing and media coverage are accepted. Those wishing to view or cover the event should apply via the inquiry form on our website or through the press contact.

Note 1) OHAT stands for "Oral Health Assessment Tool," which is an oral assessment tool for nurses and care staff to evaluate the oral problems of people with disabilities and those requiring care. Developed by Dr. Chalmers and others, the evaluation items include eight categories: lips, tongue, gums and mucosa, saliva, remaining teeth, dentures, oral hygiene, and dental pain. Each is classified into three stages from "healthy" to "pathological."

- Changes in Hospitalization Days by Participating in Zero-Pro One of the causes of aspiration pneumonia is "aspirating dirt in the mouth." Therefore, in "Zero-Pro," this dirt is removed by brushing, and rehabilitation for the decline in oral function of the elderly is performed. Wakabaen in Yufu City, Oita Prefecture, started working on Zero-Pro in April 2023. It is one of the facilities that started working simultaneously in an area called the Kyudai Block in Oita Prefecture. By having care staff perform Zero-Pro-style oral care twice a week, they were able to reduce not only pneumonia but all hospitalization days over a year. Furthermore, Wakabaen received the Grand Prix at the Zero-Pro Award following the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.

<Grand Prix Acceptance Comment at Zero-Pro Award 2025> "We consciously focused on having staff take the confirmation exam so that everyone could acquire the same techniques. I feel that being able to work hard together through friendly competition within the same Kyudai Block also led to this result. We want to change the nursing care frontline together with everyone participating in Zero-Pro."

- Acquiring Standardized Techniques Through the Confirmation Exam System Zero-Pro has a seminar certification system. It is a step-up system of beginner, intermediate, and advanced according to proficiency, and by taking and passing a certification exam after attending each seminar, participants can acquire more specialized nursing oral care skills and knowledge. According to this year's aggregation, the result showed that "with the active role of those who passed the advanced level, the pass rate of the beginner and intermediate confirmation exams for the entire facility increased from 54.5% to 88.9%." This suggests that not only the acquisition of techniques through the Company's seminars but also the construction of the educational system within the facility is going well. In this Zero-Pro Award, we hope to shine a spotlight on such facilities and serve as a reference for the initiatives of other participating facilities.

- "Zero Pneumonia" Reached 8 Facilities The "Zero Aspiration Pneumonia Project®" aims to literally reduce aspiration pneumonia to zero. In this year's awards, the number of facilities with zero pneumonia reached a staggering eight. Since the awards last year, that number has doubled. Among them, some facilities have had zero pneumonia for two consecutive years, and others for three consecutive years, which can be said to be the result of nursing care frontline staff continuing to implement oral care using the correct methods.

<Breakdown of Zero Pneumonia Facilities> Special nursing homes: 6 facilities, Group home for elderly with dementia: 1 facility, Housing with services for the elderly: 1 facility

- About Cross Care Dental Co., Ltd. Company Name: Cross Care Dental Co., Ltd. Representative: Dentist/Ph.D. (Dentistry) Hiroya Takiuchi Established: July 11, 2018 Location: 1-6-3-301 Otemon, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City