Woori Children’s Hospital to Build Large-Scale 'Smart Outpatient Center' in Guro-dong

Construction of 1,500-Pyeong New Building to Begin in Second Half of Year
Improving Accessibility and Quality of Pediatric Care
Introducing a "Next-Generation Healthcare System" Integrating Outpatient Services, Diagnostics, Rehabilitation, and Growth Management

Woori Children’s Hospital, operated by the Woori Children’s Medical Foundation, announced on the 21st that it will establish an AI-powered smart outpatient center near its main building in Guro-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul. The hospital aims to set a new standard for pediatric and adolescent medical care by presenting an integrated healthcare platform that goes beyond the conventional acute care environment, encompassing diagnostics, rehabilitation, and lifelong growth management.

Perspective rendering of the new outpatient center of Woori Children’s Hospital to be established in Guro-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul. Woori Children’s Hospital

The new outpatient center, currently in the design phase with construction scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, will have two underground floors and ten above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 4,960 square meters (approximately 1,500 pyeong). Once completed, the new center will be combined with the existing main building (16 floors, approximately 2,000 pyeong), resulting in an ultra-large-scale pediatric and adolescent specialty medical infrastructure totaling 3,500 pyeong.

The hospital plans to establish a “Pediatric Developmental Rehabilitation Center” (tentative name) within the new outpatient center and introduce pediatric rehabilitation medicine as a specialized department. By building a close collaborative care system with pediatric specialists, the hospital aims to detect developmental delays, physical function decline, and neurodevelopmental issues at an early stage and provide a comprehensive, customized treatment roadmap tailored to each child’s life cycle.

Recognizing that pediatric patients often struggle to express themselves and their symptoms can change rapidly, the hospital will significantly expand its advanced diagnostic infrastructure. For accurate and prompt diagnosis, it is actively considering installing state-of-the-art imaging equipment, such as pediatric-only CT and MRI machines, within the center. This will enable the implementation of a highly integrated in-hospital system where consultations, precision diagnostics, result interpretation, and subsequent treatment and rehabilitation are all seamlessly connected in a one-stop process.

In particular, by establishing an AI-powered data analysis system, the hospital plans to analyze patient visit patterns by age and purpose and efficiently manage patient flow, dramatically reducing waiting times—a long-standing weakness of pediatric and adolescent hospitals. Furthermore, in close collaboration with Korea University Medical Center, the hospital will incorporate the highest standards of infection control solutions from the design stage. Waiting areas, consultation zones, and movement pathways for infectious patients will be fully separated from those for healthy patients coming for vaccinations or checkups, creating a smart and safe clinical environment that fundamentally blocks the risk of in-hospital infection. Additionally, the hospital will promote the “Woori Children’s Healthy Growth Project,” which provides integrated care for nutrition, growth, development, and mental health for patients from newborns to adolescents up to 18 years old.

Hospital Director Baek Jeonghyeon stated, “Woori Children’s Hospital has operated a 24/7 care system year-round, serving as a steadfast support for essential pediatric and adolescent healthcare in the region. With the establishment of this new outpatient center, we will introduce advanced infection control and AI medical systems that maximize safety and efficiency, establishing a forward-looking milestone for pediatric and adolescent hospital infrastructure in Korea.”

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