Support for Care SOS Center Health Services for Vulnerable Groups in Connection with Sallim Medical Welfare Social Cooperative... Planned Support to Prevent Social Hospitalization through Village Nursing Station Project
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Eunpyeong-gu (Mayor Kim Mi-kyung) signed a business agreement on the 21st with Salrim Medical Welfare Social Cooperative to provide the ‘Care SOS Center Health Support Service’ to vulnerable groups through mutual exchange and cooperation.
Through this agreement ceremony, when residents in need of health care are identified and referred by the Care SOS Center care managers within the community service centers, Salrim Medical Welfare Social Cooperative will provide health support services through the ‘Village Nursing Station’ project.
The ‘Village Nursing Station’ is funded by the Community Chest of Korea and incurs no cost to users. It is a project aimed at preventing re-hospitalization and reducing social hospitalization by providing comprehensive medical services through home visits by a multidisciplinary team including doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and dental hygienists to residents requiring continuous medical treatment.
Eunpyeong-gu expects mutual development of the two projects as the ‘Seoul-type Community Integrated Care Project (Community Care)’ and the ‘Village Nursing Station’ share the same objectives.
Mayor Kim Mi-kyung stated at the agreement ceremony, "We will support the Village Nursing Station project, which can provide various customized health care services in residents’ own communities without hospitalization, to create a major turning point in preventing ‘social hospitalization’ where unnecessary admission to care facilities is inevitable.”
Director Kang Jeong-hye said, "We will actively cooperate in this project to not only prevent unnecessary hospitalization by providing appropriate health support services in the community but also improve the quality of life of discharged patients.”
The ‘Care SOS Center Service’ is a project that provides eight services (temporary home care, short-term facility, accompaniment support, health support, housing convenience, meal support, welfare check, and information counseling services) based on the judgment of care managers (social welfare and nursing public officials) in each neighborhood for residents in care crisis situations. Eunpyeong-gu has been implementing this since July 2019 and achieved the highest performance in autonomous district support results and user satisfaction in 2020.
Additionally, basic livelihood security recipients, near-poverty groups, and residents with median income below 85% can use the service free of charge up to an annual limit of 1.58 million KRW, and due to COVID-19, temporary cost support is also provided to those with median income below 100%.
By the end of April, Eunpyeong-gu provided a total of 2,051 services, including 350 cases of temporary home care, 90 cases of accompaniment support, 161 cases of housing convenience, 420 cases of meal support, and 1,030 cases of information counseling.
Meanwhile, Salrim Medical Welfare Social Cooperative is a social cooperative located in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, operating clinics, dental clinics, home welfare centers, and rehabilitation housing (Salrim Care B&B). It is a non-profit social enterprise conducting various community activities where residents can become healthier together rather than alone.
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