Jeonju City Expands This Year's 'Senior Hospital Companion Service' to Include Basic Pension Recipients

Business Agreement between Jeonju Self-Sufficiency Center and Jeonju Medical Welfare Cooperative

"Don't worry about accompanying to the hospital even if you don't have a guardian. Don't go to the hospital alone. We will accompany you until you return home."

Jeonju City, Jeollabuk-do announced on the 23rd that it will expand the 'Senior Hospital Accompaniment Service,' which has been implemented since July last year for elderly people who have difficulty using the hospital alone.

According to the city, the free service target will be expanded from the existing single-person households aged 65 or older in the lower-income bracket (below 50% of median income) with mobility difficulties to include elderly people receiving the basic pension who wish to use the free service.

On the 23rd, Jeonju City signed a business agreement for the 'Senior Hospital Accompaniment Service.'
[Photo by Jeonju City]

On this day, the city signed a business agreement with the Jeonju Regional Self-Support Center and the Jeonju Medical Welfare Social Cooperative to expand the free service.

Starting this month, the Jeonju Regional Self-Support Center will provide the same services as last year to elderly people in the lower-income bracket. From March, the Jeonju Medical Welfare Social Cooperative will expand the service from those exceeding the lower-income bracket to basic pension recipients.

The expanded hospital accompaniment service will be promoted in connection with the social service-type senior job project. Retired personnel in relevant fields such as care workers and nurses will assist elderly people with mobility difficulties in pairs.

Jeonju City's Senior Hospital Accompaniment Service operates in a way that an accompaniment manager provides a one-stop service from hospital transportation, registration, and treatment to returning home. It can be used for 3 hours per day, up to once a week, and the usage hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Applications can be made through a dedicated call center, and users must bear transportation costs when accompanied to the hospital.

Go Eunha, head of the Jeonju Regional Self-Support Center, said, "The hospital accompaniment service has a very high satisfaction rate among users, and many who have used it once come back again. The care workers who serve as accompaniment managers also feel a great sense of fulfillment while working."

A Jeonju City official stated, "This year, by linking with the social service-type senior job project, we are providing jobs to retired professionals, achieving a win-win effect by offering high-quality services to more citizens."