Yeongjong-gu District (Mayor Son Hwa-jeong) in Incheon will significantly broaden the scope of services under its localized integrated care program starting this August. The district plans to introduce new services closely tied to daily life — home-visit exercise, mobility support, in-home bathing, and hair and beauty care — while also increasing the number of partner medical institutions that work with discharged patients, aiming to reduce gaps in care.
 [The Korean Today] Signing ceremony for Yeongjong-gu's integrated care localized program agreement © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
Mayor Son Hwa-jeong met with officials from five newly participating service providers at the Yeongjong-gu District office on Aug. 20 and signed the "Yeongjong-ae Integrated Care Localized Program Agreement." Attending the signing ceremony were representatives from the Incheon Chapter of the Physical Therapists Association (Chapter Head Kim Jeong-hoon), The Future Inc. (Chairman Oh Hyun-cheol), the Korea Welfare Management Institute (Chairman Oh Jeong-hwa), Incheon Paik Hospital (Director Baek Seung-ho), and Samsung Nursing Hospital (Director Yoon Yeo-jun).
The agreement adds new specialized services on top of the housekeeping, meal, and housing care services the district has been running with the Incheon Integrated Welfare Social Cooperative and the Incheon Jung-gu District Self-Sufficiency Center. The aim is to actively draw in private-sector expertise to build a welfare foundation tailored to local characteristics and the care needs of individual recipients.
Each newly participating institution has been assigned a specific role. The Incheon Chapter of the Physical Therapists Association will provide "home-visit exercise" services to help recipients recover physical function, while The Future Inc. will offer "mobility support," including accompanying recipients to hospital visits, as well as "in-home bathing" services for those who have difficulty maintaining hygiene at home. The Korea Welfare Management Institute will handle "hair and beauty services," visiting recipients who have trouble going outside due to limited mobility.
The number of partner medical institutions in the "discharged patient linkage program," which helps district residents leaving hospitals return stably to the community, has also been expanded. In addition to the existing five institutions — Sky Korean Medicine Hospital, Juan Nanuri Hospital, Hillakam Nursing Hospital, Godbaro Hospital, and Incheon Christian Hospital — Samsung Nursing Hospital and Incheon Paik Hospital have newly joined, bringing the total number of partner medical institutions to seven.
 [The Korean Today] Signing ceremony for Yeongjong-gu's integrated care localized program agreement © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
These partner medical institutions are tasked with identifying, in advance, patients who have been discharged or are about to be discharged and who require integrated care. When they assess a patient's health status, ability to perform daily activities, and care needs and refer the case to the district, the district plans to provide comprehensive medical and care support tailored to that individual.
"This agreement will serve as an opportunity to upgrade our integrated care system to the next level through cooperation between the public and private sectors," Mayor Son Hwa-jeong said. "We will continue to work to closely link and support the services that residents need, so that they can maintain a healthy daily life in the place where they have lived."
Building on this agreement, the district plans to pursue proactive administration that further expands its network of cooperation with capable private institutions, making the integrated care program more systematic and stable going forward.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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