Jeonbuk Province Designates Two Local Medical Centers as Dedicated COVID-19 Hospitals

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Jeonbuk Province announced on the 23rd that it has determined that securing hospital beds is urgent in preparation for the worst-case scenario, such as the spread of COVID-19 in the community, and plans to utilize all hospital beds at Gunsan Medical Center and Namwon Medical Center, which are responsible for regional public healthcare, for treating group confirmed cases in the region.

This measure was implemented swiftly after the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the novel coronavirus infection ordered urgent securing of beds at local medical centers due to an explosive increase in patients in specific areas.

Jeonbuk Province sees the key to utilizing all 243 beds, including 113 beds at Gunsan Medical Center and 130 beds at Namwon Medical Center, as dedicated COVID-19 beds, is to safely transfer patients currently being treated at the local medical centers to nearby medical institutions. They plan to transfer patients step-by-step and systematically by dividing by ward (or floors within wards) at each medical center.

Specifically, a COVID-19 response task force will be formed at each medical center to be responsible for emptying and managing beds within the medical institution and reporting progress. Patients eligible for medical benefits will be transferred to nearby medical institutions under the responsibility of the respective local governments. The plan is to secure 50% of total beds by the 24th, 70% by the 26th, and 100% by the 28th.

The province also plans to appropriately compensate medical institutions designated as infectious disease management institutions if losses occur due to this. This is to allow medical staff to fully concentrate on COVID-19 treatment.

A Jeonbuk Province official said, “We will continue to proactively implement all possible measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and do our best to alleviate the inconvenience and anxiety of residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.