Expansion of the Emergency Medical Safety Net
Planned to Open in the Second Half of the Year
Seoul St. Mary's Hospital announced on January 19 that it has been newly selected in the '2025 Pediatric Emergency Medical Center Expansion Project' organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare at the end of last year.
According to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, the background for this selection lies in the structural gap in pediatric emergency care capacity in the southwestern part of Seoul and adjacent metropolitan areas. A significant proportion of the hospital's pediatric and adolescent patients are local residents, and the hospital has been serving as a de facto regional hub.
The hospital plans to further strengthen its existing system, in which pediatric emergency specialists provide direct care 24 hours a day, by expanding its hotline and fast-track services to enable even faster response to severe emergency cases. To this end, the hospital will expand its medical infrastructure, including dedicated care for severe emergency patients, linkage with the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), and operation of negative pressure isolation rooms for infectious disease response, with plans to open in the second half of the year.
Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, which aims to complete a major facility renovation in the first half of this year, is known to be enhancing its infrastructure by expanding negative pressure isolation rooms, pediatric-only intensive care units, and dedicated inpatient wards to ensure a safe treatment environment even during future infectious disease outbreaks.
In addition, by linking with the nation's largest pediatric hematology-oncology center and a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with 50 beds, the hospital plans to establish a safety net so that critically ill pediatric patients can receive timely treatment without missing the golden hour.
Lee Jiyeol, Director of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, stated, "With a commitment to safeguarding the future of Korea, we will do our utmost to serve as a medical safety net so that pediatric and adolescent patients in the region do not miss the golden hour."
Meanwhile, in December last year, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital opened 'St. Nicholas Children's Hospital' with the goal of restoring the pediatric medical ecosystem. Based on the concentration of experience in treating severe, rare, and intractable diseases at tertiary hospitals, the hospital plans to foster future pediatric and adolescent specialists through extensive clinical experience and a systematic training system.
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