Military Opens Trauma Center 5 Years After Completion

by Yang Nakgyu

Published 20 Apr.2022 10:35(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The military's first trauma center has opened five years after the start of facility construction. The military's first trauma center, which specializes in treating military-specific traumas such as gunshot wounds, began full-scale construction in the second half of 2017 and was completed in March 2020, but in September of the same year, it was designated as a dedicated hospital for COVID-19 infectious disease. With the lifting of the dedicated hospital designation on the 18th, it has now officially opened.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 20th, the Armed Forces Trauma Center is a specialized institution for treating military-specific traumas such as gunshot wounds and blast injuries, as well as trauma patients frequently occurring in the military. The center, with a total area of 11,169㎡ (approximately 3,300 pyeong), is equipped with facilities including a trauma resuscitation room where examinations and resuscitation can be performed without moving emergency patients, two dedicated operating rooms, and a 20-bed intensive care unit, along with the latest equipment.

In particular, with the opening of the center, it will be possible to provide 'one-stop emergency patient support' that connects emergency treatment linked with the Armed Forces Medical Command Medical Comprehensive Situation Center, rapid evacuation using the military medical evacuation helicopter (Medion), and treatment at the Armed Forces Trauma Center when emergency trauma patients occur within the military.

The inaugural center director is Kim Nam-ryeol, president of the Korean Society of Trauma and Critical Care Surgery, who previously served as a trauma surgery clinical professor at Korea University Guro Hospital. To strengthen the expertise of military medical officers, long-term military doctors will be trained annually at civilian regional trauma centers.

About 50 people attended the opening ceremony, including Minister Seo, officials from the Armed Forces Medical Command and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, related organizations, the US Forces Korea, civilian medical institutions, and experts from various fields.

President Moon Jae-in, in a written congratulatory message, stated, "I hope the Armed Forces Trauma Center, which is responsible for the entire treatment process of trauma patients where every second counts, will protect the lives and health of not only military personnel but also the public more thoroughly," and added, "I support the Armed Forces Trauma Center as it takes its powerful first step."

Minister Seo emphasized in his commemorative speech, "The opening of the Armed Forces Trauma Center is a core project of the military medical system reform, one of the tasks of Defense Reform 2.0," and said, "The military will enhance the quality of military medical services to ensure that the precious lives of soldiers injured while protecting the country are fully cared for until the end."