Gijang County Accelerates Adoption of "Gijang-Style Integrated Care"... Strengthening Medical and Welfare Linkages

On May 6, Gijang County (Governor Jung Jongbok) announced that it is focusing its administrative efforts on establishing the "Gijang-style Integrated Care" model in line with the "Act on Integrated Support for Regional Care Including Medical and Nursing Services" (Integrated Care Support Act), which took effect on March 27.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, interest in the system is rising nationwide, with around 9,000 people applying within just two weeks of the official launch of the integrated care program. Reflecting the demand from residents since the early days of implementation, Gijang County is also accelerating the establishment of an integrated care system that combines medical and welfare services.

As of the end of April, there were 96 applicants for integrated care in Gijang County. Of these, the county connected 81 individuals to a total of 254 customized services.

By service type, daily living assistance-including meal support and housekeeping-accounted for the largest share at 153 cases, followed by long-term care and health management services.

The county is providing tailored connections to necessary services by comprehensively assessing each recipient's health status and living conditions, aiming to ensure that integrated care becomes a practical and well-established welfare model within residents' daily lives.

In particular, the county is actively working to identify and support not only recipients of in-home care benefits but also relatively marginalized groups, such as patients preparing to return home after discharge and elderly people with disabilities in urgent need of care.

Gijang County is also responding to minimize the medical service gap caused by the recent withdrawal of the designation of a home healthcare center in the area.

First, the county plans to actively participate in the additional call for home healthcare centers being conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in April and May, with the goal of quickly rebuilding a stable home healthcare infrastructure. Preparations for the application are underway in collaboration with local healthcare institutions.

Until a new home healthcare center is designated, the county intends to minimize service gaps through public-private cooperation. It plans to respond to demand for home visits by working with local clinics participating in the "Primary Care Home Visit Reimbursement Pilot Project" and to reduce medical blind spots by establishing cooperative frameworks with home healthcare centers in neighboring municipalities.

Jung Jongbok, Governor of Gijang County, said, "Since the implementation of the Integrated Care Support Act, we have seen steady applications from residents, which confirms the need for the system in the field. We will mobilize all available resources to minimize home healthcare gaps and build a dense care system that residents can truly feel."

Gijang County Office.

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