Seoul Asan Hospital to Fully Operate Korea's Top Infection Control Center Starting Tomorrow

All Systems Focus on 'Infection Prevention'
Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Patients
Utilization for Future Infection Treatments
Need for Fee Reflection to Sustain Operations

Jung Mong-jun, Chairman of the Asan Social Welfare Foundation (center), is inspecting the center building with Park Seung-il, Director of Seoul Asan Hospital (right), and Kim Seong-han, Head of the Infection Control Center.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Infection Control Center (CIC) at Seoul Asan Medical Center, the first and most advanced independent building dedicated to infectious diseases in a private hospital in Korea, will officially begin operations on the 10th. Amid the surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant, it is expected to play a significant role in securing much-needed beds for critically ill patients.

The Infection Control Center, built with a total floor area of 22,070㎡, consists of three basement levels and four above-ground floors, with all systems focused on 'infection prevention.' The first floor houses the emergency room, the second floor contains negative pressure isolation wards and outpatient clinics, and the third floor includes intensive care units, operating rooms, and CT rooms, enabling all diagnostics, admissions, and surgeries to be conducted within a single building. To minimize contact between patients and medical staff, entrances, elevators, and corridors have been completely separated, and a negative pressure system capable of blocking airborne infections has been installed throughout the entire building, including patient rooms, operating rooms, and imaging rooms. Previously, when infectious disease patients needed to move for CT scans, they had to be sealed in a 'bio bag,' but this inconvenience is expected to be reduced.

Inside, the center is equipped with ▲a negative pressure isolation emergency room (29 single negative pressure observation beds and 12 seats in the mild symptom area) ▲a negative pressure isolation ward with 15 beds (12 negative pressure isolation rooms and 3 high-level negative pressure isolation rooms) ▲a negative pressure isolation intensive care unit with 13 beds ▲infectious disease and respiratory outpatient clinics (6 consultation rooms) ▲one negative pressure operating room ▲one negative pressure general imaging room ▲and one negative pressure CT imaging room. The Infection Control Center will primarily be used to treat severe COVID-19 patients. Outpatient care for mild cases, emergency surgeries for COVID-19 positive pregnant women, and CT scans for confirmed patients will also be conducted here. Including existing isolation wards and intensive care units, Seoul Asan Medical Center will operate a total of 109 beds for COVID-19 patients.

Negative pressure operating room.
Photo by Lee Gwanju

The Seoul Asan Medical Center Infection Control Center was actively planned starting in 2018, following the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. As new infectious diseases continued to emerge, the need arose to block their introduction and establish a safe treatment environment against potentially transmissible diseases. The threat of new infectious diseases materialized with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Infection Control Center is an optimal facility to respond to such emerging infectious disease crises.

The key challenge going forward is the operation during non-epidemic periods. The hospital plans to use the facility to treat other infectious disease patients once the COVID-19 situation improves. However, the issue is that only five diseases?measles, chickenpox, tuberculosis, shingles, and MERS?are currently designated for reimbursement for negative pressure isolation rooms.

Diseases such as influenza, severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) transmitted by ticks, and immunocompromised patients are not currently recognized for reimbursement. Kim Seong-han, head of the Infection Control Center (Professor of Infectious Diseases), stated, "Although these are textbook cases that require the use of negative pressure facilities, the lack of reimbursement is an area that needs improvement. For other hospitals to continue operating such facilities and to be prepared for future emerging infectious diseases, reimbursement must be reflected to enable sustainable operation."

Infection Control Center Guide Map.

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