Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-koo Foundation, Regular Symposium... "Sharing Solutions for COVID-19 Medical Field"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] The OnDream Disaster Response Medical Safety Network Task Force, launched in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Severance Hospital, and the Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, held the 6th regular symposium under the theme "Overload of Infectious Disasters in the Pandemic Era."

The symposium, held online on the 3rd, was attended by over 1,000 healthcare workers who shared the current status and solutions of medical sites amid the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

At the symposium, 11 domestic and international experts presented on four key issues highlighted by the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: ▲Staff (healthcare workers), ▲Stuff (equipment), ▲Structure, and ▲System.

In the Staff session, presentations were made on the competencies required for critical care healthcare workers in pandemic preparedness (Professor Jaeseok Park, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital) and the psychological safety of healthcare workers during the pandemic (Manager Junghyun Lee, National Center for Mental Health). In the Stuff session, presentations included the effectiveness of physical defense structures to prevent infection spread during emergency treatment (Professor Jooyoung Hong, Severance Hospital Emergency Medicine) and calculation methods for effective management of personal protective equipment supply (Professor Carly Barrett, University of Toronto).

In the Structure session, topics included changes in emergency treatment center structures for pandemic preparedness (Director Hyunsoo Jung, Severance Disaster Medical Education Center) and creating a safe environment for donning and doffing personal protective equipment (Professors Jennifer Dubose and Zorana from Georgia Institute of Technology, Professor Lisa Lim from Texas Tech University, and two others). The System session featured presentations on hospital treatment system experiences for pandemic preparedness (Professor Litsinkuk Ng, Ng Teng Fong Hospital, Singapore) and practical medical staff simulation education and training for pandemic response (Professor Peter Dieckmann, University of Stavanger, Norway).

The OnDream Disaster Response Medical Safety Network Task Force was launched in 2014 through cooperation among the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, and Severance Hospital to establish a permanent relief system and train experts in disaster preparedness. Over the past five years until last year, it has provided disaster response medical expert training programs to more than 8,300 people, and this year, it is conducting education through online content due to COVID-19.

Additionally, as part of the disaster response medical expert training project, the task force has held an annual regular symposium since 2015 to provide a platform for sharing diverse experiences and research cases. The purpose is to raise awareness of disasters and minimize unpredictable disaster occurrences and damages.

Chairman Kwon said, "I hope this symposium will be a valuable forum to share various experiences and opinions related to infectious disease disasters and suggest effective directions for disaster preparedness," adding, "We will continue to do our best to lead expert training projects and system establishment that can quickly respond to various disaster situations, including infectious diseases."

Task Force Director Ha said, "As we experience the prolonged COVID-19 health crisis, I hope this will be a place of learning and discussion to overcome the current situation by sharing experiences and opinions on the four overload issues of infectious disasters that have become prominent."

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