Yeongjong-gu District (Mayor Son Hwa-jung) in Incheon has joined forces with local medical institutions to ensure that children who are victims of abuse within its jurisdiction can be treated and protected immediately. The measure is aimed at preventing gaps in the child protection response system and establishing a medical safety net at an early stage for the newly launched district.
 [The Korean Today] Signing of the MOU designating Yeongjong-gu's Sprout Guardian Hospitals © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
On Sept. 3, Mayor Son Hwa-jung signed a memorandum of understanding with seven local medical institutions in the mayor's office to designate them as 'Sprout Guardian Hospitals' (institutions dedicated to child abuse cases), aimed at building a system for protecting abused children and providing swift medical support.
The agreement was pursued out of concern that gaps could arise in the response to child abuse during the early stages after the new district's launch following the administrative system reorganization. The district plans to preemptively block such gaps by building a tighter local medical safety net.
Since last August, the district accepted applications from local medical institutions and reviewed documents, ultimately selecting a total of seven institutions as Sprout Guardian Hospitals. The designated institutions are Yeongjong International Hospital, Haneul Orthopedic Clinic, Sky Korean Medicine Hospital, Yeongjong EM365 Clinic, Yes Samsung Pediatrics Clinic, Unseo Joeun Saram Dental Clinic, and Yeongjong Haneul Junior Dental Clinic.
A notable feature is that institutions from a range of medical fields participated, including not only pediatrics and orthopedics but also dentistry and Korean medicine hospitals. The district expects this will allow abused children to receive specialized and comprehensive medical services tailored to their needs.
 [The Korean Today] Signing of the MOU designating Yeongjong-gu's Sprout Guardian Hospitals © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
Going forward, the institutions designated as Sprout Guardian Hospitals will provide prompt treatment to children who are victims (or suspected victims) of abuse and offer specialized medical consultation. If a case suspected of abuse is discovered during treatment, they will also serve as a monitoring network by immediately reporting it to the relevant authorities.
The district plans to later present official plaques from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to the hospitals designated this time. It also plans to continue identifying and designating additional dedicated medical institutions going forward to further strengthen the effectiveness of the child abuse response system.
Mayor Son Hwa-jung said, "I am truly grateful to the local medical institutions that readily joined in building a medical safety net for abused children," adding, "Based on a solid cooperative system with local medical institutions, we will do our utmost to ensure that abused children can be treated safely and recover in good health without any gaps in medical protection."
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
Become a Local Ambassador Apply as Branch Director The Korean Today — Nam-Incheon
 |
<저작권자 ⓒ 코리안투데이(The Korean Today) 무단전재 및 재배포 금지>
