Completion of Greater Adult Care... Expansion of Dobong-gu Care SOS Center

Establishing a Sustainable Emergency Care System Without Interruption Despite COVID-19 Social Distancing Level Increase Through Prior Disinfection Before Providing In-Home Care (Temporary In-Home Care)... From January, 28 Care Managers Assigned to 14 Dong Community Centers to Strengthen Identification and Support of Care Crisis Households

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Dobong-gu (Mayor Lee Dong-jin) has expanded the pilot-operated 'Care SOS Center' project, which began in August last year, to all 14 neighborhood community service centers starting this January, while also strengthening the services.

The district first assigned two dedicated personnel (care managers) to each of the 14 neighborhood community service centers, totaling 28 staff members. This is to enable immediate response to residents' care crisis situations and to enhance service provision and monitoring in care blind spots.

The scope of services has also been expanded.

From January, the district fully implemented eight major care services by adding two new items?▲Health Support (linking with public health center health care services) and ▲Well-being Check (routine check-ins and companionship)?to the existing six care services: ▲Temporary Home Care (urgent household and nursing support at home), ▲Short-term Facility (support for short-term facility admission), ▲Accompaniment Support (accompanying essential outings such as hospital visits), ▲Housing Convenience (simple home repairs, thorough cleaning, disinfection, etc.), ▲Meal Support (basic lunchbox delivery), and ▲Information Counseling.

Furthermore, by March to April, the district plans to expand the services to ten major care services by adding ▲Disinfection and Cleaning and ▲Laundry Services.

Care services can be requested at the resident’s neighborhood community service center for elderly, disabled, and middle-aged residents (50 years and older) living in the area. Service costs are fully supported up to an annual maximum of 1.58 million KRW per person for those with household incomes at or below 85% of the median income (temporarily 100%).

Those outside the support criteria may use the services with self-payment.

However, the district plans to provide exceptional support for urgent care needs beyond the main target groups of 'elderly, disabled, and middle-aged 50 and older.'

In addition, the district actively considers support for households at risk of exclusion due to not meeting public system eligibility criteria, and in cases where income criteria are ambiguous, it considers a 'support first, verify later' approach.

Meanwhile, since the primary users of the Dobong-gu Care SOS Center are elderly, the district is also making every effort to maintain disinfection measures. The district has established a separate disinfection plan for emergency care involving face-to-face services, creating a 'care disinfection system' that ensures continuous service provision even if social distancing levels are raised.

Based on this, the district conducts year-round education and inspections on COVID-19 disinfection etiquette for emergency care, especially performing thorough disinfection before face-to-face services (such as temporary home care) are provided by care managers and other care providers to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Additionally, this year, the district is making strenuous efforts to block transmission by providing 'COVID-19 Safety Kits' composed of disinfection supplies to care-related workers (care managers, providers, and users).

According to a district official, the 'Dobong-gu Care SOS Center' provided a remarkable 1,005 care services during the pilot operation period last year.

Since last year, the district has established a specialized care system that jointly visits care service providers and care crisis households early on, offering a rapid matching service for care providers suitable for 'emergency care.' Through monitoring care users, the district promptly arranges hospital admission when necessary and provides emergency care linked with local care during hospital closures, positioning itself as a comprehensive case management hub and a cornerstone of community-integrated care. As a result, Dobong-gu was selected as a 'leading autonomous district' by Seoul City this year.

Mayor Lee Dong-jin of Dobong-gu stated, “We will continue to build closer collaborative relationships with care service providers and local medical institutions to provide timely and swift customized services and connect patients to daily life after discharge, establishing a non-stop local care safety net. We will ensure that adult care is thorough and seamless.”