Gil Hospital Designated as Regional Responsibility Medical Institution...Improving Medical Accessibility and Reducing Health Disparities

Gachon University Gil Medical Center Exterior View

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Gachon University Gil Medical Center has been designated as a 'Regional Responsible Medical Institution' to strengthen essential medical services in the Incheon area.

Accordingly, Gil Medical Center will expand and reorganize its existing Public Medical Service Office into the Public Medical Headquarters, placing public health-related centers such as the Emergency Medical Center, Regional Cancer Center, and Remote Trauma Center under its organization to provide high-quality essential medical care and serve as the central hub for the public health delivery system in the Incheon region.

The Public Medical Headquarters at Gil Medical Center will implement essential medical services including transport and transfer of severe emergency patients, infection control, operation of a high-risk maternal and newborn health management team, and outreach health care services for island regions.

To this end, it plans to form a consultative body with Incheon City, Incheon Fire Headquarters, Korea Coast Guard, Incheon Medical Center, and Incheon Medical Association to promote various projects.

Incheon City, with a population approaching 3 million, has 370,000 residents aged 65 or older, accounting for 12.6% of the total population. The growth rate of the population aged 65 and over in Incheon is 173.2% compared to 2019, ranking third highest among metropolitan cities and provinces, predicting many future challenges in the health care sector.

However, the number of hospital beds, specialists, and nurses per capita in Incheon remains lower than the metropolitan area average. As a result, the utilization rate of essential medical services within Incheon is low, and patient outflow to the metropolitan area continues.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare selects 'Regional and Local Responsible Medical Institutions' to establish a regional medical delivery system aimed at improving medical accessibility and reducing health disparities. Together with local governments, the Ministry designates 17 regional and 70 local responsible medical institutions nationwide.

Lee Jungnam, head of the Public Medical Headquarters at Gil Medical Center, said, "With Gil Medical Center designated as a regional responsible medical institution, we will provide high-quality essential medical care in the Incheon area to improve medical accessibility and reduce health disparities. For the healthy lives of Incheon citizens, we will unite Gachon University Gil Medical Center’s capabilities and community resources to make our best efforts."

Meanwhile, the Public Medical Headquarters at Gil Medical Center plans to complete the organization and consultative body formation within this month, continuously recruit related personnel, and begin full-scale project implementation starting in March.

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