Dongdaemun-gu to Strengthen Home-Visit Health Services for Senior Citizens

Two Health and Longevity Centers Serving Two Zones
Proactively Establishing an Integrated Public Health and Wellness Support System

Seoul’s Dongdaemun-gu District Office (headed by Mayor Lee Pilhyung) will strengthen its integrated support services for senior citizens in the public health and wellness sectors in line with the Enforcement of the Act on Integrated Support for Community-Based Care Including Medical Care and Long-Term Care (Integrated Care Support Act), which will take effect on March 27, 2026.

Scene of home visit health services in Dongdaemun-gu. Provided by Dongdaemun-gu.

The core aim of the Integrated Care Support Act is to provide integrated and coordinated support across medical care, long-term care, and daily living assistance so that residents who find it difficult to maintain their daily lives due to frailty, illness, or disability can continue living in their own homes and communities.

The district’s “integrated health care and support” hubs are two Health and Longevity Centers. They are operated with consideration for regional accessibility, with Zone 1 (Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center) and Zone 2 (Dongdaemun-gu Community Health Promotion Center). Center-based multidisciplinary teams consisting of physicians, nurses, nutritionists, and physical therapists visit the homes of senior citizens aged 65 and older to conduct comprehensive assessments, including blood pressure and blood sugar measurements, nutritional and muscle strength evaluations, and checks on medication adherence. After establishing an individualized care plan, they provide a total of eight free home-visit services over a three-month period.

In 2025, this home-visit health service resulted in 2,453 instances of health management for 207 senior citizens. Starting in 2026, the district plans to use the Health and Longevity Centers as communication hubs for integrated support, creating closer linkages between health management, daily living assistance, home-based medical care, and welfare resources.

In particular, the district will prioritize senior citizens who are at high risk of experiencing care gaps after being discharged from hospitals, and will swiftly coordinate and connect them to the services they need. The Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the Integrated Care Support Act have established a legal basis that allows medical institutions to apply for integrated support on behalf of discharged patients if the patients or their families consent. Alongside the home-visit services, the district will also run health and wellness programs such as the “Dongdaemun-gu Longevity College.”

Dongdaemun-gu Mayor Lee Pilhyung said, “Care should not end with a ‘one-time connection’; it must be a system that continues until health is restored and daily life is maintained,” adding, “We will steadfastly strengthen integrated health care and support so that senior citizens can live safely in the places where they have long resided.”

For inquiries and applications for the home-visit health service, please contact the Health and Longevity Team of the Medical Affairs Division at the Dongdaemun-gu Public Health Center (02-2127-5242, 4181).