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Q & A Interview with Dr. Jo Seung Yeon
1. Please briefly introduce Incheon Medical Center. Incheon Medical Center was established in 1932 and has been taking care of the health of citizens in and around Incheon for nearly 90 years. It operates an excellent medical team of about 600 employees specialized in 20 fields who work full-time, medical facilities with about 300 beds and a health examination center with the latest diagnostic equipment.
2. Please share your goals and the role of Incheon Medical Center. Incheon Medical Center wants to be faithful to its original mission of protecting citizens’ health and treating diseases, which is the reason for its existence. Incheon Medical Center is the only municipal public hospital in Incheon and serves as a government-run public medical institution that guarantees citizens’ right to health without pursuing profit. Through citizens’ tax support, it provides a social safety net for the vulnerable who lack economic capabilities beyond the limits of the national health insurance. In times of national health and medical disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it faithfully plays the role of a disaster and emergency hospital which proves difficult for private hospitals. It plays a leading role in the implementation and enforcement of various government health care projects and policies.
Citizens’ health and disease prevention are important virtues, and both treatment and prevention activities are carried out at the same time.
3. Please tell us what Incheon Medical Center is focusing on amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation. In Korea, most of the hospitals are private, with public hospitals accounting for only 5% of the total hospitals in the country. Disasters arising from widespread disease infections are an area of public healthcare that must be handled as if one is preparing for war and essetial measures must be put in place but most of the time, this can be difficult for private hospitals. Therefore, we are voluntarily and actively playing a role as a central medical institution against this pandemic. In nearly two years, there has been many trials and errors, but at each period, we communicate closely with the city government and devote ourselves to the safety of Incheon citizens. We are doing our best not only to treat infected patients but also to treat ordinary citizens who need public hospitals as well. However, we are maintaining the highest level of safety for patients and employees, with no infection recorded so far in the hospital.
4. Recently, the COVID-19 response measures have been changing due to the “living with COVID-19” policy, so please introduce any changes that have taken place in the hospital system due to this. With a strong and efficient quarantine performance and an active cooperation from citizens, Korea is becoming a model for the world under the name of K-quarantine. Now, effective vaccines have been developed and inoculated, with 80% of the population gaining immunity. The rate of progression for severe patients (severe exchange rate) is getting very low, and it is time for a major change in policy as it is no longer possible to handle the limitations and economic burden of strong quarantine policies. Therefore, with the start of the “living with COVID-19” policy, an important change in our hospital system includes 1) establishment of a home medical system through remote monitoring 2) strengthening treatment capabilities for patients with moderate or severe symptoms (patients in need of oxygen supply). Hospitals are preparing for efficient changes in the medical system in line with the current policies to shift from quarantine of confirmed patients with mild symptoms to treatment of critically ill patients, by creating a protocol for home care, and providing guidelines to hospitals participating in it in the future. The medical facilities for treating COVID-19 patients has also been improved and equipped with an air conditioner and others to ensure patients who have been suffering from severe noise and inflow of unfiltered external air will be able to experience a more pleasant environment.
Now, we are preparing to become Incheon Medical Center, which is leading in the change of COVID-19 response policy.
5. Lastly, please share the vision and philosophy of the hospital director leading the Incheon Medical Center. Incheon Medical Center is a large city with 3 million people, and a gateway to Korea with airports and ports. As the only public general hospital in Incheon Metropolitan City, I would like to create a hospital that serves citizens with all my might, despite the challenges. Healthcare, along with education, are not objects for pursuing private interests, but areas that require extremely high publicity that must be designed and operated as a long-term national plan. Although it has made remarkable progress to overcome the ruins of the war in 1950 and reach the world’s top 10 economy, Korea’s medical care has a system that lacks publicity, which is rare in the world. By laying the foundation for a welfare state, it can cross the threshold of advanced countries and become a stable country. Healthcare welfare is the number one national responsibility that guarantees the most basic human needs. Restoration of the vulnerable public is a task of the times, and of course, public hospitals are the ones who will lead it. Incheon Medical Center will try to create a public hospital that becomes the ROLE MODEL of Korea as well as Incheon Metropolitan City. I will also work hard as a director with this responsibility.
Incheon Medical Center Location: 217, Bangchuk-ro, Dong-gu, Incheon Website Call Center: +82-32-580-6152, +82-32-580-6001
