Samcheok City Launches Full-Scale Integrated Care Support to Strengthen Services for a Super-Aged Society

Establishing a Community-Based Model
Integrating Medical, Nursing, and Caregiving Services

Samcheok City in Gangwon Province has officially launched an integrated care support initiative that encompasses medical, nursing, and caregiving services, in response to its transition into a super-aged society with 32% of its population being elderly.

Photo by Samcheok City on the 16th, the 1st Citizens and Practitioners Training Session.

Since being selected as a pilot municipality for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "Integrated Medical, Nursing, and Caregiving Support Project" in September last year, Samcheok City has established a customized local care model through processes such as establishing a social security council, enacting ordinances, forming a dedicated team, and coordinating with related organizations. The city serves as a hub, overseeing the identification of care recipients, service linkage, and inter-agency collaboration, while connecting towns, health centers, and private organizations.

On the 16th, the first Citizens and Practitioners Training session was held, where participants shared the "Gwangju-style Integrated Care" case from the Gwangju Social Service Institute, and key stakeholders and citizens discussed the present and future of Samcheok’s own integrated care model.

Samcheok City and Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Samcheok Medical Center signed a business agreement for a "Long-Term Care Home Medical Center Pilot Project." This agreement aims to provide integrated medical, nursing, and caregiving services so that long-term care recipients with limited mobility can maintain healthy daily lives within their community. Under this program, a team consisting of a doctor, nurse, and social worker will visit homes directly to provide medical care, nursing, counseling, and connect various care services.

A city official stated, "We are building a service system to ensure that residents in need of care can continue to lead healthy lives," and added, "In the future, we plan to expand the scope of care to include not only the elderly but also people with severe disabilities, and to offer a variety of services such as hospital accompaniment, meal support, housing environment improvement, and the operation of home medical centers."