Jeonju City Supports Integrated Housing and Care Services for Seniors

Promotion of 'Integrated Care Center' Construction Next Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hong Jae-hee] Jeonju City in Jeollabuk-do has embarked on creating a hub space where integrated support for health care, medical care, nursing, care services, and rehabilitation is provided to offer more comprehensive elderly care services.

On the 20th, the city announced plans to strengthen its care policies by expanding elderly care hub spaces and establishing a detailed health and medical safety net at the village level as it enters the second year of its integrated care pilot project.

First, the city plans to build an ‘Integrated Care Center (tentative name)’ next year, a complex facility where elderly housing and care services are provided in one location, with a total floor area of approximately 4,290 square meters (about 1,300 pyeong).

The lower floors of the Integrated Care Center will house a Health Life Support Center, community spaces, and a senior job platform, while the upper floors will feature barrier-free residential spaces equipped with safety bars and emergency bells, as well as rooftop urban gardens.

Additionally, the city will supply 60 safe housing units for the elderly in areas with high senior populations such as Seoseohak-dong and Palbok-dong, providing not only barrier-free residential environments but also community spaces for various integrated care services.

Alongside this, by October, the city will establish a ‘Neighborhood Health Care Use Center’ in Namnosong-dong, an area with many elderly residents, utilizing vacant houses to serve as small-scale welfare centers. This center will operate care programs linked with medical associations and install facilities such as foot baths, heating devices, massage chairs, and blood pressure monitors.

In this regard, the city classifies all integrated care policy recipients into four groups and is focusing on building a detailed health safety net for the elderly in collaboration with health, medical, and care personnel including the Jeonju Medical Association and Jeonju Medical Social Cooperative.

The city supports the first safety net group with health promotion and disease prevention policies such as smoking cessation, alcohol moderation, and lifestyle improvements, while assisting the second group with management of general chronic diseases including dietary therapy for diabetic patients.

For the third safety net group, the city promotes management of high-risk chronic disease patients through medication guidance, and for the fourth group, it provides focused care such as home visits by village doctors.

Min Seon-sik, Director of the Welfare and Environment Bureau, stated, “The COVID-19 crisis has confirmed the urgent need to strengthen the public nature of health care,” adding, “At the same time, it has been an opportunity to reaffirm that the essence of medical care is not technological advancement but caregiving.”

He continued, “Through the newly innovated integrated care system established after COVID-19, we will strive to provide sufficient support so that all elderly people can live comfortably in their own homes.”

Meanwhile, last August, the city opened integrated care service desks in 19 neighborhoods of Wansan-gu, deploying 52 dedicated welfare and nursing personnel to provide 32 integrated care services to over 600 elderly individuals.

Starting this year, the city has expanded management by various types such as dementia and those turning 75, doubling the policy target group from 600 to 1,200 people.