‘Night and Holiday Medical Care’ Chungnam Launches First Dalbit Children’s Hospital

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The first Dalbit Children's Hospital in the Chungnam region will begin operations next month.

Chungnam Province announced on the 26th that Asan City Shindosi Ijin Hospital has been designated as a Dalbit Children's Hospital and will start operations from the 1st of next month.

Dalbit Children's Hospitals are pediatric and adolescent hospitals and clinics that can be used by infants and children during nighttime and holidays, designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare since 2014. Currently, 19 pediatric and adolescent hospitals and clinics nationwide are designated and operating as Dalbit Children's Hospitals.

The province expects that operating Dalbit Children's Hospitals will also alleviate the inconvenience experienced by patients and guardians who have to visit emergency rooms during nighttime and holidays.

In fact, the number of emergency room visits at hospitals in the Chungnam region in 2019 totaled 408,721, of which pediatric and adolescent patients accounted for 4,688 cases (1.1% of the total). Most of these patients were mild cases who had no medical institutions available during nighttime hours, leading them to inevitably visit emergency rooms.

Accordingly, the province plans to expand pediatric nighttime and holiday medical institutions starting with the designation of the first Dalbit Children's Hospital, and to distribute mild pediatric emergency patients away from emergency rooms to reduce the inconvenience and cost burden caused by emergency room visits.

Kim Seok-pil, Director of the Low Birthrate and Health Welfare Office of the province, said, "The designation and operation of Dalbit Children's Hospitals is an essential system for children who suddenly become ill at night," adding, "The province is operating Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital as a pediatric specialized emergency medical center along with Dalbit Children's Hospitals, and we hope that specialized treatment for pediatric emergency patients can be systematically provided."

Meanwhile, information on nationwide Dalbit Children's Hospital operating institutions and hours can be checked on the Emergency Medical Information Center website.

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