The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 13th it has selected 14 medical institutions in vulnerable areas and will begin operations this month to reduce gaps in nighttime and holiday care for pediatric patients.
This is part of the government's policy to strengthen regional and essential care, called the "vulnerable-area pediatric nighttime and holiday care institution fostering project," and the core is to enable outpatient care at night and on holidays even in areas lacking pediatric clinics and specialists.
It is a newly introduced model for areas without a "Moonlight Children's Hospital," and it operates differently from existing Moonlight Children's Hospitals. Moonlight Children's Hospitals run seven days a week, on weekday nights (6–11 p.m.) and holidays (10 a.m.–6 p.m.), while medical institutions participating in vulnerable-area pediatric nighttime and holiday care can flexibly operate their nighttime and holiday hours within 20 hours per week in consultation with local governments.
The government will provide 120 million won in annual operating costs to the selected institutions. Funding is split evenly between national and local budgets and will be used for labor costs and operating nighttime and holiday services.
Through this, the government plans to help institutions build experience in pediatric nighttime and holiday care and lay the foundation for future conversion into Moonlight Children's Hospitals.
Selected institutions will begin operations sequentially in April as soon as preparations are complete, and all institutions are expected to be operating by May. The 14 medical institutions selected this time are as follows.
▲ Ilsin Christian Hospital in Dong-gu, Busan, ▲ W365 Medical Clinic in Nam-gu, Busan, ▲ 21st Century Union Pediatrics Clinic in Suseong-gu, Daegu, ▲ I Sarang 365 Pediatrics and Adolescents Clinic in Namdong-gu, Incheon, ▲ Danaeun 365 Clinic in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, ▲ Rainbow Union Clinic in Guri, Gyeonggi, ▲ Suji Dodam Pediatrics and Adolescents Clinic in Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi, ▲ Korea Workers' Compensation & Welfare Service (K-COMWEL) Taebaek Hospital in Taebaek, Gangwon, Sokcho Medical Center in Sokcho, Gangwon, ▲ Yeongwol Medical Center in Yeongwol-gun, Gangwon, ▲ Innovation St. Mary's Hospital in Jincheon-gun, North Chungcheong, ▲ NH Mirae Children's Hospital in Naju, South Jeolla, ▲ Yeongcheon J Hospital in Yeongcheon, North Gyeongsang, ▲ Namhae Hospital in Namhae-gun, South Gyeongsang.
Many of them will offer care on weekday evenings (6–9 p.m. or 11 p.m.) and on weekends and holidays, allowing guardians to receive pediatric care relatively close by at night or on public holidays.
The ministry plans to expand participating institutions through an additional call for applications in the second half of this year. The ministry also expects the project to help ease overcrowding caused when children with mild symptoms had nowhere to go and flocked to emergency rooms.
Lee Joong-gyu, director of public health policy, said, "Through this project, the government, local governments, and neighborhood clinics will join forces to improve regional health care systems and strengthen the foundation for pediatric care, which is expected to not only protect patients' right to health but also improve local residential conditions."
Meanwhile, hospitals participating in the vulnerable-area pediatric nighttime and holiday care institution fostering project were selected last month through a public call and a review by a selection committee of academia and experts.