Jeonnam Province Provides Emergency Support of 1 Billion KRW to Suncheon and Gangjin Medical Centers

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 4th that it will provide emergency support of 500 million KRW each, totaling 1 billion KRW, to the ‘Suncheon and Gangjin Medical Centers,’ which are struggling due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and their public function roles.

Since the first confirmed COVID-19 case in Jeonnam Province on February 6, Suncheon and Gangjin Medical Centers have been designated as infectious disease specialized hospitals, taking on the role of public medical institutions by treating confirmed patients through enhanced infection control and operating emergency rooms.

They usually provide essential medical treatment and services to medically vulnerable groups in the region, but after the outbreak of COVID-19, as public infectious disease specialized hospitals, they have been keeping beds available for specialized treatment of confirmed patients and playing a central role in quarantine efforts.

From February 28 to April 27, both medical centers completely suspended outpatient services and transferred general patients to other hospitals, resulting in a significant decrease in medical revenue.

Since May, they have been adjusting beds to treat inpatients concurrently, but due to the hospitalization of COVID-19 confirmed patients, residents continue to avoid seeking treatment, causing outpatient numbers to decrease by 30% and inpatients by more than 50% compared to last year.

As a government measure, compensation for bed losses was provided in three installments: 3.02 billion KRW to Suncheon Medical Center and 1.83 billion KRW to Gangjin Medical Center, but this remains insufficient for the operation of the medical centers.

Accordingly, the province has prepared 1 billion KRW in management stabilization funds to support them, prioritizing its use for employee salaries, pharmaceuticals, material costs, and other debt situations.

Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, said, “I appreciate the dedication of the medical staff who are quietly working on the front lines to overcome COVID-19, and we will continue to support the medical centers that are striving to prepare for a resurgence of COVID-19 despite difficult conditions. I also ask the medical centers to work on image renewal and management innovation.”

Meanwhile, Suncheon and Gangjin Medical Centers are proactively responding to prevent regional spread by treating 31 patients confirmed within the province.

In particular, in March, 30 patients from Daegu were treated and fully recovered at Suncheon Medical Center through bed sharing and have all returned to their hometowns. Last month, due to a surge in confirmed cases in Gwangju and a shortage of operational beds there, 27 patients from Gwangju (21 at Gangjin Medical Center and 6 at Suncheon Medical Center) were admitted and treated; among them, 9 have been discharged and 18 are currently undergoing treatment.

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