Muan-gun Selected for 2024 Hometown Love Fund Project and Designated Donation Project

Published 15 Mar.2024 10:19(KST)

Muan-gun Emergency Medical Institution Operation Support Project to Proceed This Year... Total of 5 Cases Selected

Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kim San) held the Hometown Love Fund Management Deliberation Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) on the 13th and selected fund projects and designated donation projects for 2024.

According to the county on the 15th, seven members attended the meeting, including Vice Governor Jeong Hyun-gu, the chairman of the committee, and private members with expertise in hometown love donations.

Previously, the county conducted a contest to discover excellent ideas for fund projects, held discussions, and conducted a public preference survey to gain the sympathy of donors and residents, discover projects that can lead the development of Muan and contribute to the welfare of residents, and selected fund projects through the committee's deliberation on this day.

I am managing the operation of the Hometown Love Fund Management Deliberation Committee. <br>[Photo by Muan-gun]

I am managing the operation of the Hometown Love Fund Management Deliberation Committee.
[Photo by Muan-gun]

The fund projects selected at the deliberation committee consist of a total of five projects: one 2024 Hometown Love Fund project and four designated donation projects. The Hometown Love Fund project is △Support for the operation of emergency medical institutions in Muan-gun, and the designated donation projects are △Support for youth rental housing in Muan-gun △Support for care of hospitalized children for parental peace of mind △Construction of a maternal health promotion center △Creation of a senior citizens' happiness resting place.

Among these, the ‘Support for the operation of emergency medical institutions in Muan-gun,’ which will be promoted this year, was selected as this year’s fund project to prevent the absence of emergency medical institutions and protect the precious lives and health of local residents by providing stable and continuous emergency medical services.

Muan Hospital, located in Muan-eup where the project will be promoted, opened in 1993 and has been striving to protect the lives and health of local residents. It was designated as a regional emergency medical institution in 2004 and serves as the only general hospital and emergency medical institution in the jurisdiction responsible for improving health and welfare in the medically vulnerable southwestern region of Jeollanam-do.

The number of patients using the emergency room at Muan Hospital has been increasing every year (8,436 in 2021, 8,892 in 2022, 9,672 in 2023). However, due to population decline caused by rural outmigration and low birth rates, drastic cuts in government budgets for operating emergency medical institutions, and the reluctance of specialists and medical personnel to work in rural hospitals, operating costs have risen, causing serious financial difficulties.

In fact, in February, two of the three emergency medicine specialists responsible for maintaining the emergency medical system resigned, putting the hospital in a crisis where it must consider either reducing emergency room operations or returning its designation as an emergency medical institution. Currently, due to collective actions by the medical community opposing the increase in medical school admissions, the use of advanced general hospitals by critically ill patients is restricted, creating a consensus that the survival and normal operation of regional emergency medical institutions are urgently needed.

The four designated donation projects will have their implementation timing decided after reviewing the fund accumulation status, and they are expected to stimulate the participation enthusiasm of potential donors, contribute to the activation of fundraising, and lead to the continuous development of Muan-gun’s Hometown Love Donation System.

Vice Governor Jeong Hyun-gu said, “I sincerely thank all donors who participated in the Hometown Love Donation System with warm interest and affection for Muan-gun last year,” and added, “I hope that the fund projects selected by the deliberation committee will further activate our county’s Hometown Love Donation System and create an opportunity for Muan-gun to develop further.”