Damyang-gun, Full-Scale Implementation of Rural Welfare in the 8th Elected Term

Establishment of Hyangchon Care Team and Detailed Plan Discussions with Task Force, Private Organizations, and Groups

Full-scale Implementation of Hospital Accompaniment, Home Visit Care, and Housing Environment Improvements for Safe Living

On the 29th, Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will actively promote the ‘Damyang-style Hyangchon Care’ to realize Hyangchon Welfare, a core policy of the 8th local government administration.

To this end, the county changed the Family Happiness Division to the Hyangchon Welfare Division through an organizational restructuring in July and established the Hyangchon Care Team, laying the foundation for the full-scale promotion of ‘Damyang-style Hyangchon Care.’

Hyangchon Care is a policy that is proactively promoted by reflecting the regional characteristics of Damyang-gun to ensure that residents can live in harmony with the local community where they have lived, with integrated support in housing, health, medical care, nursing, caregiving, and independent living assistance.

There are 5,319 elderly people in Damyang-gun who have no practical family care, accounting for 35% of the elderly population.

In the regional resident needs survey for the establishment of the 5th Damyang-gun Community Security Plan, the urgency of elderly care was the highest at 66.1%.

The county collected and reviewed opinions through several working-level task forces and meetings with private institutions and organizations to develop new policy projects tailored to the local situation and the needs of the elderly, ultimately selecting 16 projects.

In addition, to ensure seamless implementation of the projects, a care needs survey will be conducted targeting about 5,900 elderly people, and integrated support plans for each target will be established through public care service linkage and meetings at the eup and myeon levels.

Starting next year, a team composed of welfare workers, nurses, nutritionists, and physical therapists will visit homes to provide various care services.

For those who have difficulty moving and have no guardian to accompany them to the hospital, accompaniment support will be provided; home visit care support will be offered to discharged patients; and projects to improve the residential environment to prevent falls and create a safe living environment free of obstacles will be promoted.

Additionally, the county plans to expand communication spaces by establishing a Senior Club, a dedicated institution for elderly jobs, operating a ‘Care Farm’ for dementia patients, monitoring well-being using care robots, strengthening nursing facility functions, supporting admission fees, and creating middle-aged rest centers in each eup and myeon.

Furthermore, the smart senior center construction project and the establishment of the Hyangchon Joint Meal Center, confirmed as public contest projects, will be promoted step-by-step starting next year.

The third floor of the Damyang-gun Senior Welfare Center will be newly renovated and operated as a comprehensive welfare center providing additional rehabilitation and medical services.

Damyang-gun has set specific goals to reduce the number of nursing facility and hospital admissions and long-term care recipients by 5 to 7% by 2027, and to lower the medical expenses per person aged 65 and older from the current 5.7 million KRW to 4.7 million KRW.

County Governor Lee Byeong-no said, “We will actively promote the Hyangchon Care project, which cares for the elderly like children, to make Damyang a model case of rural integrated care,” and added, “We will concentrate all our capabilities so that the elderly can spend a happy later life in their hometown.”