Suncheon-si, Nationwide First Public Health Medical Foundation Establishment 추진

Establishing the Suncheon-type Public Healthcare System

'Pediatric Emergency Room' to Operate in March Next Year

Suncheon City in Jeollanam-do announced that it is working to establish the "Suncheon-type Regionally Integrated Public Healthcare System," where the university hospital acts as the system hub and local medical institutions are responsible for each department within the university hospital.

According to the city, a control tower among medical institutions is necessary to build a regionally integrated public healthcare system, and to this end, it is promoting the establishment of a public health medical foundation for the first time in the nation.

Regional Emergency Medical Center at Seongkarolo Hospital
Photo by Suncheon City

The public health medical foundation fund will initially be raised through contributions from Suncheon City and local businesses.

The raised funds will be used not only to expand equipment for operating specialized hospitals such as those for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular treatment but also to support essential but financially struggling departments within local medical institutions.

The public health medical foundation is currently in preliminary consultation with Jeollanam-do and plans to conduct a feasibility study in the first half of this year after review by Jeollanam-do.

The foundation's establishment is expected in the first half of next year, once administrative procedures are completed.

The city expects that the public health medical foundation will strengthen cooperative networks through joint public-private responses, improve the quality of medical services, and contribute to the promotion of professional and systematic medical policies.

As the first step toward building the regionally integrated public healthcare system, the city has designated and operates the Dalbit Children's Hospital by leveraging its administrative and political power to eliminate blind spots in pediatric care.

Dalbit Children's Hospital is operated by two hospitals and provides pediatric care during weekday nights and weekends, receiving positive responses not only from working couples and citizens but also from other regions such as Gwangyang and Yeosu.

These two hospitals also manage high-risk pregnant women.

Furthermore, for severe pediatric patients, professional treatment is not available locally, requiring travel to distant hospitals such as those in Gwangju, and emergency room overcrowding is a serious issue.

The city plans to operate the "Suncheon-type Pediatric Emergency Room," capable of providing 24-hour specialized care for severe pediatric patients, starting in March next year.

Additionally, severe emergency patients such as those with myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, and cerebral hemorrhage often have to be transferred to higher-level hospitals because rapid treatment is not possible locally.

Therefore, the city is making multifaceted efforts to attract a Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease Center to enable prompt treatment in emergency situations.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases require rehabilitation alongside treatment, and a hospital specializing in rehabilitation therapy must be designated and operated.

The city plans to operate a rehabilitation-specialized medical institution in cooperation with the government, Jeollanam-do, and local medical institutions.

Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu of Suncheon said, "We will create a new public healthcare system by building the Suncheon-type regionally integrated public healthcare system that operates local hospitals as one, like a university hospital."

Suncheon = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Yeon-kyung hss79@asiae.co.kr

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