Military Trauma Center Opens Dedicated COVID-19 Treatment Unit

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The military has decided to open the Gyeonggi-do Seongnam National Military Trauma Center ahead of schedule in response to the resurgence of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The National Military Trauma Center, originally scheduled to open officially next January, will begin operations early from the 9th.

On the 7th, the Ministry of National Defense announced that it would operate the National Military Trauma Center next to the National Military Capital Hospital in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, ahead of schedule for dedicated infectious disease treatment, and urgently converted 40 general beds into isolation treatment beds.

Confirmed patients will be prioritized for one-person-one-room isolation, and if the number of inpatients rapidly increases, cohort isolation will allow accommodation of up to 40 patients. The 40 general beds (18 rooms with negative pressure facilities) have been improved with additional automatic doors, closed-circuit (CC) TV and Wi-Fi installed in each room to facilitate isolation of confirmed patients. With cooperation from nearby military hospitals, medical equipment such as negative pressure transport carts, blood pressure monitors, oxygen saturation meters, and N95 masks have also been provided.

The Medical Command explained that patient movement within the trauma center has been strictly separated to block contact not only among staff but also with outpatients and visitors at the National Military Capital Hospital. The isolation treatment beds are staffed by five military doctors including the head of infection control at the Capital Hospital, 16 nursing personnel (10 nursing officers and 6 nursing assistants), and 47 medical personnel dispatched from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) (24 nurses, 18 nursing assistants, 4 radiologists, and 1 administrative staff). A system has been established to quickly transfer patients to higher-level general hospitals if their condition worsens, and plans for dispatching additional medical personnel are also under discussion.

Earlier, at the request of the CDSCH, on the 4th of this month, eight nationally designated treatment beds operated at the National Military Capital Hospital were converted into intensive care beds. The intensive care beds are staffed by five military doctors and 31 nursing personnel (14 nursing officers, 10 nurses, and 7 nursing assistants). Additional personnel will be deployed if the number of patients requiring intensive care increases. The Medical Command has also installed equipment for ventilators, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the intensive care beds. In March this year, when COVID-19 cases surged mainly in Daegu, the military converted the National Military Daegu Hospital and National Military Daejeon Hospital into national infectious disease dedicated hospitals.

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