The nation's first public pediatric rehabilitation hospital will open this month in Daejeon.
Exterior view of the public children's rehabilitation hospital built in Gwanjeo-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon. Provided by Daejeon City
On the 30th, Daejeon City will open the Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam Nexon Sponsored Public Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital (hereinafter referred to as the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital). Medical services will begin on the 26th, ahead of the official opening.
According to Daejeon City, the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital began construction in January 2021, completed the construction in 27 months, and received building use approval from Seo-gu Office on the 17th of last month. Currently, the final administrative procedures for starting medical services and opening are underway.
After opening, medical services will initially focus on outpatient care and rehabilitation treatment in the established departments, centered on the medical staff secured so far.
Subsequently, patients requiring intensive rehabilitation treatment through day care and hospitalization will be selected, and day wards and inpatient wards will be operated sequentially. Children receiving treatment in the day and inpatient wards can also attend classes in the dispatched classrooms provided by the hospital.
Previously, the opening of the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital was delayed due to difficulties in recruiting medical staff. Daejeon City plans to address the shortage of medical personnel through the medical staff secured so far and visiting doctors from Chungnam National University Hospital.
The secured medical staff includes three rehabilitation medicine specialists, one pediatrician, and one pediatric dentist. Additionally, recruitment of seven special education teachers to teach children admitted to the day ward and 18 nurses has been completed, and Daejeon City expects no difficulties in opening and operating the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital.
The Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital will be operated by Chungnam National University Hospital. Operating hours are weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM (lunch break from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM), and rehabilitation treatment is available from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, up to twice a week on weekdays per patient, depending on the medical staff's judgment.
Chungnam National University Hospital has been entrusted by Daejeon City to operate the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital for five years, managing personnel, rehabilitation treatment for children with disabilities, and facility management.
The Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital is built in the Gwanjeo-dong area of Seo-gu, Daejeon, with a total floor area of 18,142㎡, consisting of two basement floors and five above-ground floors, with 70 beds (20 day beds and 50 inpatient beds). Daejeon City expects that about 6,000 children with disabilities in the Chungcheong region will use the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital after its opening.
Meanwhile, the Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital holds significance as the first public specialized treatment facility to be built and operated nationwide. Until now, children with disabilities had to receive treatment at day wards and pediatric rehabilitation departments operated by some university hospitals. The only private hospital operating such services was the Purme Foundation Nexon Pediatric Rehabilitation Hospital, highlighting the shortage of hospitals for children with disabilities.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
