Leading the Way for a Happy Old Age... Yeongdeungpo-gu's 'Visiting Senior Center Health Keeper' Receives Positive Response

High-quality programs including traditional medicine mobile clinics and proper walking method education... Customized health management programs provided by visiting teams composed of professional staff such as nurses and nutritionists... Continuous support planned to alleviate seniors' health concerns

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will directly visit local senior centers to provide various health programs to protect the health of the elderly.

The population of seniors aged 65 and over in Yeongdeungpo-gu has been increasing every year, reaching a total of 65,000 as of 2023, which accounts for 17.5% of the total population.

As aging accelerates, the district is independently promoting the “Visiting Senior Center Health Keeper” project to alleviate the elderly’s concerns about chronic diseases and activate health management activities in daily life.

Every Thursday, a “visiting team” composed of specialized personnel such as nurses, nutritionists, exercise therapists, and dental hygienists affiliated with the district visits senior centers directly. Currently, customized health management programs are provided, including ▲basic health checkups and consultations, ▲hypertension and diabetes health classes, ▲elderly nutrition management, ▲dementia prevention education and early screening, ▲elderly depression scale testing and management education, ▲CPR and defibrillator usage practice training, and ▲denture and oral care education.

Additionally, the district runs a “Traditional Korean Medicine Mobile Clinic” program offering consultations with oriental medicine doctors and acupuncture treatment, as well as the “A Walk Around the Neighborhood with Seniors” program that teaches proper walking methods to prevent falls and joint contractures.

An elderly participant in the Walk Around the Neighborhood program expressed satisfaction, saying, “I only learned the correct way to walk after turning 80. My knees, which used to hurt so much when walking, have improved a lot now.”

In 2023, the “Health Keeper” project visited 145 out of 170 senior centers in the area (45 public and 125 private centers), with a total of 3,442 elderly participants, achieving great results. The district expressed its ambition to continue steady activities this year to visit even more senior centers.

Also, this project is open to all residents aged 65 and over, even if they are not members of a senior center. Interested individuals can inquire at the public health center before visiting a senior center according to the schedule.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “We will continue to play a vital role as health keepers to protect the health of our elderly citizens,” and added, “We will continuously provide various health management programs for the happy senior lives of our elderly.”