Geochang County Responds to Healthcare Gaps by Expanding Public Health Doctor Workforce

Five New and Transferred Public Health Doctors Appointed
Maintaining Rotation-Based Medical Services in Four Rural Regions... All-Out Efforts to Minimize Healthcare Gaps

Geochang County, Gyeongsangnam-do, announced on the 20th that it had presented appointment certificates to five newly appointed and transferred public health doctors for 2026 and provided them with basic training required for their service.

The newly assigned public health doctors comprise three medical doctors, one dentist, and one Korean medicine doctor. They will be placed at the county health center and various local health branches, where they will be responsible for providing medical care and carrying out various public health projects to promote the health of local residents.

[Photo by Geochang County] Group photo of 5 newly appointed and transferred public health doctors

In particular, the number of medical public health doctors has decreased by one compared to the previous year, raising concerns about inconvenience for residents in medically underserved areas. In response, the county plans to minimize gaps in healthcare services by continuing regional health branch rotation visits and implementing remote medical consultations in parallel.

The county will assign one doctor to each of the four rural regions: Jusang-Ungyang-Goje, Buksang-Wicheon-Mari, Namsang-Sinwon, and Namha-Gajo-Gabu, thereby maintaining the existing rotation-based medical service system. In contrast, the number of doctors at the main health center has been adjusted from two to one.

In addition, to address the ongoing decrease in the number of public health doctors in recent years, the county is also pursuing the recruitment of additional management doctors at the health center to alleviate residents' inconvenience in accessing medical services.

Lee Jeongheon, Head of the Health Center, stated, "The role of public health doctors is especially important in rural areas where access to medical institutions is limited. Although this service is part of their military duty, we ask that doctors serve with a sense of mission, treating residents like family and providing care with kindness and attention."

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