Incheon City Expands Hospital Companion Service for Seniors... Budget Savings Through Volunteer Participation

Expansion of Eligibility to Age 65 and Over, Including Yeongjongdo

Incheon City announced on the 26th that it will expand the eligibility and service areas for the hospital accompaniment service, which was piloted last year.

The city decided to extend the eligibility from those aged 70 and above receiving basic pension benefits to those aged 65 and above starting this year. Additionally, Yeongjongdo has been newly included in the service area, and the number of beneficiaries is expected to reach 9,000.

This service involves volunteers accompanying elderly individuals who can move independently to hospital-level medical institutions by taxi or volunteer vehicles, assisting with appointment applications and payment processes.

The service can be applied for at administrative welfare centers and volunteer centers in eight autonomous districts within the city on weekdays, and there is no personal fee.

Taxi fares are supported for volunteers, and 20,000 KRW is provided when using a personal vehicle. For Yeongjongdo, considering geographical conditions, 30,000 KRW (excluding toll fees) is supported when using a personal vehicle.

The hospital accompaniment service is significant as a form of a care network utilizing volunteers, not only reducing labor costs but also establishing a foundation for citizens to contribute to solving local community issues. In fact, Incheon City stated that this service is expected to save about 1.3 billion KRW in budget compared to similar services in other cities and provinces.

Starting this year, the city plans to increase the volunteer recognition hours from a maximum of 4 hours to 8 hours to encourage active participation of volunteers and ensure the sustainability of the project.

Each district center has recruited and trained 30 volunteers, totaling 240, and will begin full-scale activities starting with the inauguration ceremony on the 8th of next month.

An official from Incheon City said, "There are 308,000 dual-income households and 84,850 single-person households aged 65 and above in Incheon, both increasing annually," adding, "We hope the hospital accompaniment project will minimize the care gap for the elderly caused by rapid aging and the increase in dual-income households."

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