St. Vincent's and Seoul St. Mary's Hospitals Newly Designated as Pediatric Emergency Medical Centers

Ministry of Health and Welfare to Provide Critical Care for Pediatric Emergency Patients at 14 Centers Nationwide

Quality of Emergency Medical Services Expected to Improve with Expanded Facilities and Medical Staff

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on May 15 that it has newly designated St. Vincent's Hospital of The Catholic University of Korea in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of The Catholic University of Korea in Banpo, Seoul, as pediatric emergency medical centers, ensuring that pediatric emergency patients can receive specialized emergency care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As a result, the number of pediatric emergency medical centers nationwide will increase from the previous 12 to 14.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, pediatric patients under the age of 18 account for 17.0% of all emergency room visits. However, due to the wide variety of symptoms depending on age and the use of different equipment, there are unique medical requirements, making a specialized care system with dedicated personnel, facilities, and equipment necessary. In response, since 2016, the government has operated a pediatric emergency medical care support program and has continued to expand pediatric emergency medical centers to strengthen the emergency medical infrastructure, enabling severe and moderate pediatric emergency patients (KTAS grades 1–3, Korea Triage and Acuity Scale) to receive care with confidence.

This latest selection was made through an open call held in November of last year. An evaluation committee composed of experts from various emergency medical fields comprehensively reviewed the operating plans of candidate institutions, including their experience in treating pediatric emergency patients, staffing, facilities, equipment, and final treatment capabilities. The two institutions that received the highest scores were conditionally designated as priority centers. By the end of last month, these institutions had completed additional facility construction and equipment upgrades, and secured all required personnel.

Going forward, St. Vincent's Hospital of The Catholic University of Korea will create an environment in southern Gyeonggi Province where pediatric emergency patients can smoothly receive care through hospitalization in the Department of Pediatrics and collaborative consultations with other specialties such as gastroenterology and otolaryngology. Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of The Catholic University of Korea, as a tertiary general hospital, will prioritize treating emergency patients in the metropolitan area, while securing a sufficient number of pediatric subspecialists in various fields. It is expected to play a key role in accepting transfers of difficult cases from other emergency medical institutions and providing final treatments such as Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) admissions and emergency surgeries or procedures.

The government is providing operating funds of KRW 100 million per dedicated specialist, up to a maximum of KRW 1 billion per year (100% national funding), to ensure that pediatric emergency medical centers can operate stably despite having fewer patients than adult emergency rooms. In addition, health insurance reimbursement rates for pediatric emergency care are applied with extra compensation, and institutions participating in the pilot project for post-compensation of public pediatric specialty centers are compensated for medical losses, including those involving pediatric emergency medical centers.

Ih Jungkyu, Director General for Public Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "Pediatric emergency medical care is a vital essential healthcare field directly linked to children's lives, and it is an area that the nation must take responsibility for and support robustly. We will continue to expand support to ensure the stable operation of the pediatric emergency care system." He added, "We expect that with the addition of two new pediatric emergency medical centers, pediatric patients will be able to receive critical emergency care with peace of mind, even at night and on holidays."

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