Hwasun County Launches Proactive Comprehensive Survey for Seamless Disability Care

Preparing for the Enforcement of the "Integrated Care Support Act"
Laying the Foundation for Personalized Services

Hwasun County in South Jeolla Province announced on January 14 that it will begin a comprehensive survey to identify priority candidates for the pilot project of integrated medical and care support for people with disabilities, in preparation for the enforcement of the “Act on Integrated Support for Community Care Including Medical and Nursing Services” (abbreviated as the Integrated Care Support Act), which is scheduled to take effect on March 27.

This survey has been organized to minimize service gaps, identify the needs of potential beneficiaries in advance, and establish a customized integrated support system for each individual.

The survey targets 198 individuals (as of January 2026) under the age of 65 with severe disabilities, such as physical or brain lesions, who reside in Hwasun County and have a high need for medical care. The survey period will run for about five weeks, from January 21 to February 27.

The survey will be conducted through home visits by the Integrated Care Division and Independent Living Care Team of Hwasun County Office, in cooperation with welfare teams from each township and town. These teams will comprehensively assess the need for medical and care services of each household. If home visits are not possible, phone surveys will be conducted in parallel. In addition, systems such as the Social Security Information System will be utilized to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the survey results.

The county plans to request a further assessment from the National Pension Service (and from the National Health Insurance Service for elderly individuals) in March for high-risk groups identified through the comprehensive survey.

Following this, an “Integrated Support Committee,” composed of the county, township and town offices, public health centers, the National Pension Service, and care institutions, will establish individualized support plans and commence full-scale service provision.

The support services will go beyond basic care to encompass all aspects of daily life, including medical, housing, and nursing care. Even after the services are provided, continuous monitoring will be conducted to ensure that recipients can lead healthy and independent lives within the community.

Yang Bonam, Head of the Integrated Care Division, stated, “This comprehensive survey is an important step in developing an integrated care model tailored to the specific circumstances of our county before the official launch of the project. We ask for your active cooperation in providing information about the project and completing the survey forms during household visits.”

He added, “We will continue to do our utmost to establish a robust medical and care safety net so that people with disabilities and discharged patients in need of care are not marginalized within the community.”