Chungnam, New Deployment of 'Public Health Doctors' for COVID-19 Response

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province will newly deploy 116 public health doctors to the COVID-19 response sites.

According to the province on the 9th, the newly deployed public health doctors include 58 medical doctors, 16 dentists, and 42 Korean medicine doctors, who will be assigned mainly to medically underserved areas such as rural health centers, health clinics, and hospital ships.

After being deployed on site, these public health doctors are expected to take charge of tasks such as operating screening clinics for blocking community infections and diagnostic testing, as well as vaccination centers.

With the new deployment, the total number of public health doctors in the province will increase to 383, including 203 medical doctors, 55 dentists, and 125 Korean medicine doctors.

Previously, the province prioritized assigning specialists to epidemiological investigators, three infectious disease-dedicated hospitals including Gongju, Seosan, and Hongseong Medical Centers, elderly specialized hospitals, and emergency medical institutions to enable rapid response when COVID-19 confirmed cases occur.

Additionally, a total of 253 public health doctors have been dispatched nationwide to temporary living facilities and residential treatment centers to help alleviate the shortage of medical personnel.

Kim Seok-pil, Director of the Low Birthrate and Health Welfare Office of the province, said, “As the COVID-19 crisis prolongs, on-site personnel are physically exhausted,” but added, “In this situation, the new deployment of public health doctors will be a strong support force to overcome the national crisis.”

Public health doctors are physicians who handle medical duties at health centers in medically underserved areas such as rural regions.

The newly deployed public health doctors will undergo prior job training and perform overall community quarantine tasks for COVID-19 response, including patient care (medical institutions, living support centers, etc.), specimen collection (screening clinics, etc.), participation in emergency response teams, and vaccination centers.

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