Metropolitan Infectious Disease Specialized Hospital to Be Selected Next Month... Incheon-Gyeonggi Two-Way Competition

On-site Evaluation This Month at Incheon Seongmo Hospital and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital

Medical staff wearing full protective suits are working in the infectious disease ward at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is concentrating its administrative efforts to prepare for the second stage of on-site evaluation ahead of the government's selection of a specialized infectious disease hospital in the Seoul metropolitan area next month.

According to the city on the 25th, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital (Incheon) and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital (Gyeonggi) passed the first stage of face-to-face evaluation in the public contest for establishing a specialized infectious disease hospital in the metropolitan area. A total of four medical institutions participated in the contest, including Kangwon National University Hospital (Gangwon) and Central Veterans Hospital (Seoul).

Accordingly, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to conduct on-site evaluations of Incheon St. Mary's Hospital and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital this month and finalize the selection of the metropolitan infectious disease specialized hospital by March.

Evaluation committee members will visit the two medical institutions in person to assess the suitability of the hospital site, connectivity with the main hospital, and the excellence of existing negative pressure ward facilities and operations.

Incheon City is putting all its efforts into preparing for the final stage of on-site evaluation together with Incheon St. Mary's Hospital.

The city emphasizes the necessity of establishing a specialized infectious disease hospital in Incheon, as 90% of the 50 million annual inbound quarantine subjects enter through Incheon Airport and Incheon Port, making Incheon the frontline and optimal location for quarantine.

Additionally, by constructing the specialized infectious disease ward within Incheon St. Mary's Hospital adjacent to the main hospital at the shortest distance, rapid joint response will be possible. In the event of an infectious disease pandemic, the hospital can leverage the largest Catholic Central Medical Center network in Korea (8 St. Mary's Hospitals) to support medical personnel (2,774 people), which the city plans to highlight.

Along with this, the city will actively utilize doctor helicopters and doctor cars equipped with mobile negative pressure devices, establish negative pressure facilities on hospital ships, expand negative pressure ambulances, reorganize patient transport systems, build a remote emergency infectious disease consultation network for vulnerable areas, and prepare a joint response system with private medical institutions as part of administrative support.

To expedite the establishment of the specialized infectious disease hospital, the city plans to form a task force with Incheon St. Mary's Hospital and provide financial support.

If Incheon St. Mary's Hospital is selected as the metropolitan infectious disease specialized hospital, it will receive approximately 44.9 billion KRW in national funding to build an independent infectious disease ward with a total floor area of 108,000 square meters, from five basement floors to eight above-ground floors, on the dormitory site within the hospital.

This facility will include 102 rooms (30 negative pressure isolation, 60 general, 6 negative pressure intensive care, 6 general intensive care), six negative pressure operating rooms, and an education and training center.

Currently, four specialized infectious disease hospitals have been designated: Chosun University Hospital (Honam region), Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital (Chungcheong region), Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital (Gyeongnam region), and Chilgok Kyungpook National University Hospital (Gyeongbuk region), all under construction aiming for operation in 2023 or 2024.

Incheon participated in last year's regional selection contest but was eliminated and is now making a fifth attempt in the metropolitan infectious disease hospital contest.

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