Seoul Asan Hospital Opens Korea's First Infection Control Center in Private Hospital

22,000㎡ Infectious Disease Specialized Independent Building
Complete Negative Pressure System Established... Infection Blocked
Emergency Room, Ward, ICU, Outpatient, Operating Room All in One Building
"Establishing a Safe Medical Environment... Active Response to COVID-19"

Seoul Asan Hospital Infection Control Center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] On the 8th, Seoul Asan Medical Center opened the 'Center for Infection Control (CIC),' the first independent building specializing in infectious diseases among private hospitals in Korea.

The Seoul Asan Medical Center's Center for Infection Control is the country's first proactive infection control model equipped with a constant response system for respiratory infectious diseases and risks of imported infectious diseases, even during periods when high-risk infectious diseases are not prevalent.

The Center for Infection Control, built with a total floor area of 22,070㎡ (6,676 pyeong) and consisting of three basement floors and four above-ground floors, houses an infectious disease emergency room on the first floor, a negative pressure isolation ward and outpatient clinic on the second floor, and a negative pressure intensive care unit, negative pressure operating room, and CT scanning room on the third floor.

Inside, it is equipped with ▲negative pressure isolation emergency room (29 single negative pressure observation beds, 12 mild symptom seats) ▲negative pressure isolation ward with 15 beds (12 negative pressure isolation rooms, 3 high-level negative pressure isolation rooms) ▲negative pressure intensive care unit with 13 beds ▲infectious disease and respiratory medicine outpatient clinics (6 consultation rooms) ▲one negative pressure operating room ▲one negative pressure general radiography room ▲one negative pressure CT scanning room.

In particular, it is designed to separate infectious disease and suspected infectious disease patients from the emergency room and outpatient visit stages and to block the risk of infection spread throughout the entire medical process including examination, hospitalization, and surgery. All facilities in the Center for Infection Control are equipped with a negative pressure system that prevents internal air from escaping outside, and the outpatient clinic, emergency room, ward, intensive care unit, CT examination room, and operating room are all included in one independent building and operated separately.

The Seoul Asan Medical Center's Center for Infection Control was first planned after experiencing the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Korea in 2015. Since then, with the continuous emergence of new infectious diseases such as Ebola and Zika virus, the need for isolation spaces to treat suspected or confirmed patients with high-risk infectious diseases imported from overseas has arisen. When planning, Seoul Asan Medical Center referred to infection control systems of leading overseas hospitals such as Emory University Hospital, which was designated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a specialized hospital for treating Ebola patients.

At the opening ceremony of the Infection Control Center at Seoul Asan Medical Center on the 8th, Jeong Mong-jun, Chairman of the Asan Social Welfare Foundation (third from the left), and Park Seung-il, Director of Seoul Asan Medical Center (fourth from the left), along with other hospital officials, are commemorating the opening.

The opening of this Center for Infection Control is significant in that it has established a safe medical environment by preemptively blocking the inflow of new infectious diseases through an independent building equipped with complete negative pressure facilities and separating non-infectious patients from respiratory infectious diseases that have transmission potential. It is also expected that systematic patient management will be carried out by highly trained medical staff.

Seoul Asan Medical Center plans to fully operate the Center for Infection Control starting on the 10th and respond to the recent surge in COVID-19 patients caused by the Omicron variant by treating severe patients. This is expected to play a significant role in addressing the recent shortage of severe patient beds.

At the opening ceremony, Chung Mong-joon, Chairman of the Asan Social Welfare Foundation, said, "When my late father established the Asan Foundation in 1977, the most important thing he considered was medical welfare projects. Although there are practically no more medically underserved villages today, there are still vulnerable areas in healthcare," adding, "Seoul Asan Medical Center's establishment of the first infectious disease specialized building among private hospitals continues the founding purpose of the Asan Foundation and is a meaningful step that presents a new path for the domestic medical community."

Park Seung-il, President of Seoul Asan Medical Center, said, "We will actively participate in overcoming the national crisis caused by severe COVID-19 patients and the emergence of the Omicron variant," and added, "We will continue to play a leading role in establishing a safe medical system focused on severe diseases."

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