Samsung Expands Dedicated Treatment Beds for Severe COVID-19 Patients

Samsung Seoul Hospital Secures 20
Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Secures 7

On the 29th, when Samsung Electronics announced its confirmed third-quarter results, employees were coming and going at the Samsung Electronics building in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Despite the resurgence of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Samsung Electronics achieved a record high with third-quarter sales approaching 67 trillion won this year. Operating profit also exceeded 10 trillion won for the first time in two years. The third-quarter operating profit was 12.3533 trillion won, an increase of 58.83% compared to the same period last year. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Samsung has decided to expand the number of dedicated intensive care beds at its tertiary general hospitals under Samsung Medical Center in response to the rapid increase in confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 22nd, Samsung announced that it will add 12 beds to the 8 dedicated intensive care beds currently operated by Samsung Medical Center, bringing the total to 20 beds, prioritizing the treatment of severe COVID-19 patients.

This follows the government’s recent administrative order requiring tertiary general hospitals to designate 1% of their total beds as intensive care beds. With a total of 1,985 beds, Samsung Medical Center needs 20 such beds.

The total number of negative pressure beds at Samsung Medical Center is currently 17, and construction to install portable negative pressure devices for the additional 3 beds will be carried out by the 26th. Negative pressure rooms are designed to allow air to flow only into the room using pressure differences, and are used for treating patients with respiratory infectious diseases.

Kangbuk Samsung Hospital has decided to expand its existing 4 dedicated intensive care beds to 7.

Samsung plans to respond without issues to general intensive care admissions, emergency treatment, and surgeries for severe patients by reallocating intensive care medical personnel at Samsung Medical Center and Kangbuk Samsung Hospital and establishing efficient operation plans.

Due to the spread of COVID-19 this year, Samsung has provided its training centers as residential treatment centers whenever treatment facilities were insufficient.

In March, when confirmed cases surged in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, Samsung Human Resources Development Center’s Yeongdeok Training Center was provided for mild patients requiring self-isolation, and medical staff were dispatched.

In August, to resolve the shortage of beds in the metropolitan area caused by the resurgence of COVID-19, two in-house training centers, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Global Campus and Samsung C&T International Management Institute, were also provided as residential treatment centers.

A representative from Samsung Medical Center said, "It is challenging to focus on treating newly admitted severe COVID-19 patients with limited medical staff and beds while ensuring that general intensive care treatment is not disrupted, but we will devote all available resources to overcome these difficulties."