Namwon-si, Expansion of Dementia-Specialized Elderly Care Facility

Published 22 Jul.2021 13:22(KST)

[Namwon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Young-kwon] Namwon City, Jeonbuk (Mayor Lee Hwan-joo) has decided to expand and renovate private elderly care facilities into dementia-specialized elderly facilities in line with the ‘National Responsibility System for Dementia.’

The city announced on the 22nd that it will support three facilities with a total of 1.27 billion KRW by the end of this year to alleviate the economic and mental difficulties of not only dementia patients but also their caregiving families, and to accelerate welfare projects for elderly dementia patients.

Following last year’s support for the expansion of the dementia-specialized day and night care facility (Cognitive Care Center) at Jirisan Elderly Welfare Center, this year the city plans to support the expansion of the dementia-specialized facility at Namwon Somangmun and the remodeling of the dementia-specialized facility at Podowon.

Currently, there are 12 private care facilities in the area, all of which are general care facilities. With this support for dementia-specialized facilities, it is expected that conditions will be created to accommodate about 100 more dementia patients.

Dementia-specialized facilities have larger bedroom areas per person, fewer residents, and common living rooms compared to general care facilities, allowing residents to live in an environment similar to their homes, which provides greater stability for dementia patients.

In particular, once dementia-specialized facilities are established, care workers trained in dementia will be deployed there, enabling the provision of professional services that understand the characteristics of dementia, such as errorless learning theory using reality orientation training information, time-lag recall theory, and programs involving family members.

Mayor Lee Hwan-joo said, “Local governments are working together to address dementia issues,” and added, “We will strive to enhance treatment as well as the peace of mind and happiness of patients’ families through support for the expansion and renovation of dementia-specialized care facilities.”