"Searching for 65-Year-Old Kim Cheolsu" Desperate Family... Stories of Every District Office Rolling Up Their Sleeves

A doctor is conducting a non-face-to-face consultation with a dementia patient at the Gangnam-gu Dementia Safety Center. (Photo by Gangnam-gu)

# [Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency] We are looking for Mr. Kim Cheolsu (male, 65), who is wandering in OO District. Height 168cm, slim, bald crown, gray short-sleeve shirt, black long pants, black sneakers, wristwatch on left wrist.

Missing persons frequently appear in safety alert texts from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety several times a week. Most of the subjects are elderly. Although the text messages do not indicate whether the person has dementia, most citizens who receive the messages assume that “an elderly person with dementia has lost their way.”

With the accelerating aging population and the rapid increase in dementia patients recently, there is a growing awareness that dementia is no longer just a family issue but a challenge that the social community must solve together. Local governments are also exploring various policies through affiliated Dementia Safety Centers.

Nowon-gu to Launch ‘Korean-style Dementia Cafe’ from September

Among Seoul’s autonomous districts, Nowon-gu has the highest number of dementia patients and recently started activities to care for early-onset dementia patients (diagnosed under age 65). From next month, Nowon-gu will operate the nation’s first Korean-style dementia cafe in partnership with local cafes.

Nowon-gu’s dementia cafe aims to support the social activities of early-onset dementia patients to eliminate blind spots in care and help dementia patients and their families participate as members of the community within the local society.

Early-onset dementia patients take on tasks such as organizing cups, taking orders, and managing the store. A representative from Nowon-gu Dementia Safety Center explained, “Social participation for dementia patients helps alleviate social isolation and can slow the progression of dementia.”

The idea for the cafe was inspired by the Starbucks dementia cafes in Machida City, Japan. There, several Starbucks locations are designated as dementia cafes where dementia patients and their families can freely use the facilities, and the general public is encouraged to accept dementia patients warmly. According to the ‘2022 Korea Dementia Status’ report by the Central Dementia Center, Nowon-gu has 9,701 dementia patients, of which 11% are early-onset dementia patients.

An elderly patient with dementia is participating in the distribution of goods at a dementia cafe. (Photo by Nowon-gu)

Gangnam-gu Forms Nation’s First Dedicated Case Management Team

Gangnam-gu’s dementia patient case management team is also the first of its kind nationwide. In November last year, Gangnam-gu Dementia Safety Center proactively formed a dedicated case management team to focus on patients requiring intensive dementia care. While other districts also manage patient cases, Gangnam-gu claims to be the first to organize a dedicated team within a dementia safety center.

The dedicated team consists of four members: a doctor, a nurse, and social workers. Nurses and social workers visit patients’ homes once a month to monitor dementia, health, nutrition, and living environment, while the doctor provides comprehensive management.

The team focused on the need for specialist consultations on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) and medication side effects for patients with limited mobility who find hospital visits difficult. Accordingly, the dementia safety center’s doctor planned and launched last month the ‘Bangbanggokgok Smart Myungui’ program, which offers professional remote medical consultations on dementia to patients and their families.

When social workers and nurses visit dementia patients’ homes monthly for management, doctor consultations are conducted. Using a tablet PC, they connect via video conferencing with a neurologist (from Samsung Seoul Hospital) stationed at the dementia safety center. The doctor explains to patients, caregivers, and family members about ▲ dementia medication management ▲ neuropsychiatric symptoms ▲ chronic disease management ▲ cognitive health guidelines.

Seongdong-gu provides the Dementia Care Physician app to help caregivers easily check information about designated medical institutions. (Photo by Seongdong-gu)

Seongdong-gu Develops App with Support from Hanyang University Students

Seongdong-gu, Seoul, is developing and distributing an application (app) that allows caregivers of dementia or chronic disease patients to easily check information about related medical institutions near their homes. The app was developed and provided free of charge by students from the Department of Digital Medical Convergence at Hanyang University under an agreement with the district.

When opening Seongdong-gu’s Dementia Safety Primary Care Physician app, caregivers and others can easily find information about medical institutions designated as dementia safety primary care providers within Seongdong-gu. A representative from Seongdong-gu Dementia Safety Center explained, “Currently, the app only provides information about medical institutions, but we plan to continuously enhance the content and include more information by next year.”

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