Dongjak District Opens 100-Year-Old Daycare Center

Basement 1st Floor Physical Therapy Room, 3rd Floor Living and Program Rooms, 4th Floor Kitchen Established... Operating Hours from 8 AM to 10 PM, Professional Staff Including Manager, Caregivers, and Nurses Provide Elderly Care

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dongjak-gu (Mayor Changwoo Lee) will open the "Gu-run 100-Year-Old Daycare Center" (18 Shindaebang 1-gil) on June 1 and begin full-scale operations.

The daycare center is an institution that provides various services to maintain and enhance the physical and emotional functions of elderly people with senile diseases such as dementia through day and night care and leisure activities.

With the population of elderly people aged 65 and over and the incidence rate of dementia increasing every year, the Gu-run 100-Year-Old Daycare Center is expected to provide high-quality nursing services to the elderly, support their later life, and reduce the long-term care burden on their families.

The center utilizes the site of an aging senior citizens' center that has been in place for over 30 years and combines the senior citizens' center and the Gu-run daycare center into a new complex facility. The total floor area is 380㎡, with one basement floor and four above-ground floors. The senior citizens' center is located on the first and second floors above ground, while the daycare center occupies the basement floor and the third and fourth floors above ground.

The basement floor houses a physical therapy room, the third floor has living rooms and program rooms, and the fourth floor is equipped with a kitchen. Operating hours are from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with professional staff including managers, care workers, and nurses on site to provide care for the elderly.

Basic medical services such as blood pressure, pulse, and temperature checks are provided. The center safely escorts the elderly in the morning and evening and supports their leisure activities through various programs including ▲cognitive programs such as paper folding and art activities ▲audiovisual programs such as storytelling and movie watching ▲physical activities such as yoga and health massage ▲and other programs like birthday parties and gardening.

Currently, due to COVID-19 social distancing level 2 guidelines, programs conducted by external instructors are suspended, and only in-house programs are being operated.

The target users are those aged 65 or older who are long-term care benefit recipients or who are physically or mentally weak or disabled and require day or night care. The capacity is 21 people.

Usage fees vary depending on the long-term care grade, usage time, and date.

For more detailed information, visitors can come to the center or inquire by phone.

Additionally, the Gu-run Shindaebang 1-dong Senior Citizens' Center moved to a new building at the end of March but is currently closed due to COVID-19. Depending on social distancing levels, it is planned to be used as a leisure, cultural, and communication space for local elderly residents in the future.

Lee Sunhee, Director of the Elderly and Disabled Division, said, "Shindaebang 1-dong was an area without a daycare center, and through this establishment, we expect to meet the demand for nursing services in the southwestern region of Dongjak-gu and provide diverse and high-quality home care services. We will do our best to expand facilities quantitatively and provide high-quality services that meet the expectations of residents in preparation for the rapid increase in elderly patients with senile diseases such as dementia due to the aging trend."

The district plans to remodel the Sangdo 4-dong Community Center building to create a complex facility combining an open senior citizens' center and a Kiwoom Center, aiming for completion in August. It also plans to promote the construction of a senior complex cultural town in the Heukseok-dong area and a short-term dementia care facility in the Bondong area.