Gwangju Seo-gu Provides 'Home Medical Services' for Elderly with Mobility Difficulties

Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim Ikang) operates the ‘Visiting Medical Support Center’ to enable elderly people with mobility difficulties to live healthily in their homes rather than in hospitals.

According to Seo-gu on the 4th, the Visiting Medical Support Center provides visiting medical services to seniors aged 75 and older who have difficulty visiting medical institutions due to mobility issues, as part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s pilot project for integrated ‘medical-care support’ for the elderly.

Medical visit services are provided to elderly people aged 70 and over who have mobility difficulties.
[Photo by Seogu]

In particular, doctors, nurses, and social workers in the region form a multidisciplinary team, with doctors providing visiting medical care once a month, nurses twice a month, and social workers connecting those in need of care with local care services.

To operate the Visiting Medical Support Center, Seo-gu signed agreements with two local clinics (Jamo Clinic, Saenggi Family Medicine) and three nurses affiliated with medical institutions. Collaborating with social workers from the district office’s care support team, doctors, nurses, and social workers form a one-team system to provide systematic medical services.

Additionally, nursing public officials are assigned as dedicated medical coordinators to strengthen the linkage and management of integrated medical-care services, including the Visiting Medical Support Center and support projects for discharged patients returning home.

The target beneficiaries are elderly people aged 75 or older with mobility difficulties outside of long-term care grades 1 to 4. Applications can be made by contacting the Seo-gu Office Smart Integrated Care Division or the local administrative welfare center in the resident’s district.

After application, the health status and treatment needs of the target individual are first assessed, followed by the establishment of a service provision plan covering the scope, frequency, and number of visiting medical services, medication management, and then the service is carried out.

Mayor Kim Ikang of Seo-gu said, “The operation of the Visiting Medical Support Center is expected to improve the health management and quality of life of elderly people who have had difficulty visiting hospitals due to mobility issues, and to establish an independent model of integrated medical-care support unique to Seo-gu.”

Meanwhile, Seo-gu opened the Seo-gu Home Medical Center last year, the first of its kind nationwide, providing visiting medical care and nursing to about 200 long-term care grade 1 to 4 recipients monthly.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dongho baekok@asiae.co.kr