A university hospital medical team traveled by boat to a West Sea island village that has no private medical facilities. Ongjin-gun County (Governor Jang Jeong-min) said on the 10th that it had conducted free medical care for island residents on Seungbong Island in Jawol-myeon on the 9th, together with Gachon University Gil Hospital.
 [The Korean Today] Free medical care site on Seungbong Island © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The medical support team that visited Seungbong Island that day was made up of specialized medical personnel, including an orthopedic specialist and nurses from Gachon University Gil Hospital, along with support staff assisting with the care. In effect, a university hospital-level specialist was stationed on site to meet with residents — an uncommon opportunity for islanders who ordinarily have difficulty accessing specialized medical departments.
The care combined consultations with individually tailored treatment. The medical team reviewed each resident’s symptoms and medical history to provide specialized orthopedic consultations, and after the examinations, prescribed pain medication suited to each patient’s condition. The county said the response from residents was positive because the program went beyond consultations to the point of placing actual medication in their hands.
The care was carried out on the basis of the “One Island-One Primary Care Hospital” agreement signed by Ongjin-gun County. Under the agreement, each island is paired with a hospital responsible for its care so that medical services are supplied on a regular basis, and the Seungbong Island care was likewise carried out within that framework. It is significant in that it is part of a continuing medical support system under the agreement rather than a one-time volunteer effort.
 [The Korean Today] Orthopedic care by Gachon University Gil Hospital medical team © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The decision to make orthopedics the medical department for the visit reflects the actual health conditions of island residents. Many older residents suffer from musculoskeletal pain, including arthritis and spinal conditions, but such conditions require consistent examination and medication management and are easily left untreated in island areas with poor access to care. The program focused on filling that gap and delivering practical medical benefits.
An Ongjin-gun County official said, “Given the nature of island areas, there are many elderly residents and no private hospitals, so it is difficult for them to visit specialized medical institutions even when they are in pain,” adding, “We hope this orthopedic care and medication prescription will be a great help to residents, and we will do our best to ensure that free medical care programs with private hospitals continue to be carried out substantively.”
For island residents, a single hospital visit is an undertaking that requires ferry schedules, time and expense. If care in which medical teams come to the islands continues on a repeated basis, early detection and continuous management become possible, which could change the level of protection for residents’ right to health itself. As Ongjin-gun County has said it will continue to expand cooperative programs with private hospitals, attention is also turning to whether the Seungbong Island case will be extended to other islands.
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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