Gwanak-gu Activates Emergency Response System for 'Care SOS Center' Ahead of Seol Holiday

Operation of Emergency Care System Including Expansion of High-Risk Target Services and IoT-Based Check-ins for Lunar New Year... Contributing to Resolving Welfare Blind Spots through Dense and Active Local Care Safety Network... 3,780 Care Services Provided as of February Including Temporary Home Care, Meal Provision, and Information Counseling

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] A single-person household resident in Gwanak-gu, Mr. A (60), successfully underwent breast cancer surgery last year through an emergency medical expense application at the district office. However, since he was under 65 years old after the surgery, he was ineligible to apply for long-term care grades, and he did not have the financial means to hire a private caregiver. During this time, he was connected to the Gwanak-gu 'Care SOS Center' and, through two months of meal support and temporary home care services, he fully recovered and returned to daily life.

Gwanak-gu (District Mayor Park Jun-hee)'s 'Care SOS Center' is playing a vital role in resolving care blind spots for local seniors, disabled individuals, and middle-aged households in need of care.

It takes the lead in addressing the difficulties faced by those in crisis situations, such as family caregivers of disabled persons who suddenly need to be hospitalized, seniors living alone who have difficulty moving independently, and those unable to receive meal support from welfare institutions due to COVID-19.

In particular, to resolve care blind spots caused by the COVID-19 aftermath, the 'Care SOS Center,' originally scheduled to be implemented from July this year, was established in all 21 neighborhoods including the district office starting from August last year, creating an efficient work system utilizing care managers.

Through this, customized services have been promptly connected to residents in urgent need of care to respond to temporary crisis situations. As of February, a total of 3,780 customized care services including temporary home care (housekeeping and caregiving), meal support, and information counseling have been provided.

This number exceeds the average operational performance of all autonomous districts in Seoul operating Care SOS Centers, reflecting Gwanak-gu’s commitment to realizing care welfare.

Especially this year, in addition to the four major customized care services?temporary home care, short-term facility use, meal provision, and information counseling?the center plans to expand and operate additional services such as accompaniment visits, residential convenience, health support, welfare checks, disinfection and cleaning, and laundry services.

Moreover, through active promotion using 12,000 self-produced business promotional materials, 220 posters, banners, and leaflets, efforts are being made to ensure that residents in the blind spots of existing welfare policies receive maximum benefits.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the Lunar New Year holiday, during which social distancing measures such as prohibiting private gatherings of five or more people continue, the district has launched a meticulous ‘Care Service Emergency Response System’ to prevent care blind spots.

High-risk individuals who may face dangerous situations due to care gaps during the holiday period have been identified in advance, and measures have been put in place including expanding temporary home care services through the Care SOS Center, conducting non-face-to-face intensive welfare checks on about 2,900 households of seniors living alone with mobility difficulties, operating motion detectors for 534 high-risk seniors living alone based on IoT, and managing smart plugs for 330 high-risk single middle-aged households to enable rapid emergency response.

Seniors, disabled persons, and middle-aged residents (aged 50 and above) in need of care can apply for care services through their neighborhood community service centers or the district office’s 'Care SOS Center.' Service costs are fully covered for residents with income levels at or below 100% of the median income.

District Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “We will proactively operate the 'Care Service Emergency Response System' ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to prevent any care blind spots. Going forward, we will continue to build a more thorough and active local care safety net, reaching out to neighbors in welfare blind spots and doing our best to realize a happy Gwanak welfare.”

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