Establishment of Care Service System for Seodaemun-gu Type Discharged Patients

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul's First to Provide 'Care SOS Center Service' Immediately Upon Discharge...Promoting Healthy Living for Discharged Patients Within Their Local Communities...Agreements with Kangbuk Samsung, Dongshin, Seoul Red Cross, Seran, Severance Hospitals...Care Managers Dedicated to Nursing and Welfare at Community Centers Serve as Discharge Patient Coordinators...District Mayor Moon Seok-jin Expects to Prevent 'Social Hospitalization' Due to Long-Term Care Facility Use

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin) is collaborating with five hospitals (Kangbuk Samsung, Dongshin, Seoul Red Cross, Seran, Severance) to promptly connect residents who need care after hospital discharge to the ‘Care SOS Center Service.’

Residents admitted to these hospitals can apply for this service through the medical institution before discharge without having to visit the local community service center separately.

Care managers assigned to each community service center establish a suitable care plan for applicants and coordinate customized services immediately upon discharge through the necessary service providers among 34 available institutions.

The district informs the medical institutions of these results and pays the service providers for free users such as basic livelihood security recipients and lower-income bracket residents.

Additionally, for follow-up management, case meetings and monitoring involving medical institutions, the district office, community service centers, and public health centers will be conducted.

All 14 community service centers in Seodaemun-gu have one nurse and welfare-dedicated care manager each, totaling 28 personnel, who will also serve as ‘discharge patient coordinators’ going forward.

The ‘Care SOS Center Service’ includes temporary home care (support for daily living of residents with mobility difficulties), meal support, accompaniment support, housing convenience support, health support, welfare checks, information counseling, and short-term facility admission.

This service is implemented in all autonomous districts of Seoul, but Seodaemun-gu is the first to collaborate with hospitals to connect patients preparing for discharge.

Last month, Seodaemun-gu held a project briefing session visiting the district and nearby medical institutions to establish the ‘Seodaemun-gu-type discharge patient care service system’ so that discharged patients can enjoy a healthy life within their community.

Following this, last week, a business agreement ceremony was held at the district office’s planning situation room with representatives from the five hospitals participating in the discharge patient linkage project.

Mayor Moon Seok-jin stated, “We will organically cooperate with medical institutions to prevent so-called ‘social hospitalization,’ where residents who only need outpatient care use long-term care facilities, enabling them to live in their own homes and receive various customized care services.”

Oh Tae-yoon, Deputy Director of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, said, “We were uneasy because there was no systematic collaboration system when sending patients back to the community from the hospital, but this project has made us feel reassured. We will actively cooperate in this project that can improve the quality of life for discharged patients.”

The ‘Care SOS Center Service’ connects elderly, disabled, and residents aged 50 or older who need care to appropriate service providers based on their health status and crisis situations. Seodaemun-gu piloted the service from August to December last year and has been fully implementing it since the beginning of this year.

Basic livelihood security recipients, lower-income bracket residents, and those with household income below 85% of the median income can use the service free of charge up to an annual limit of 1.58 million KRW.

Additionally, depending on the COVID-19 situation, temporary cost support is provided to those with household income below 100% of the median income. Those exceeding the criteria can use these care services with self-payment.

From January to April this year, the district provided a total of 792 services, including 167 cases of temporary home care, 28 cases of accompaniment support, 58 cases of housing convenience support, 386 cases of meal support, and 137 cases of information counseling.

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