About 14,000 Seoul residents have received tailored services including medical care, health management and daily-living support through the Seoul Integrated Care program since the city launched it in March, the city government said. That works out to an average of 4.8 services per user. The city plans to broaden eligibility next year and narrow gaps in service levels between districts so residents can receive the care they need where they already live.
Seoul said on the 21st that 20,711 people applied for the services between the program's start on March 27 and the end of September. Of those, 14,343 were connected to a combined 69,119 tailored care services.
The Seoul Integrated Care program links services in five areas — medical care, health management, long-term care, daily-living support and housing — so that older adults and people with disabilities who need care can remain in their own homes and neighborhoods rather than entering hospitals or institutions. It currently covers people aged 65 and over as well as those under 65 with severe physical or brain-lesion disabilities.
Daily-living support accounted for the largest share of services linked, at 36.5%. Health management followed at 30.6%, housing welfare at 10.8%, long-term care at 9.8% and medical services at 9.4%. The care covered everyday needs ranging from meals and housekeeping to health management and home improvements.
The city has set up dedicated integrated care units in all 25 districts and built a network involving 78 public institutions and 5,876 private organizations. Residents or their families can apply through community service centers, after which officials assess their care needs and connect them to appropriate services.
From next year, eligibility will expand to all people under 65 with severe disabilities, and the city will launch a pilot program for people with mental illness. Seoul also plans to develop standard models for district-specific programs to reduce regional disparities, and to create "junggan-jip" (in-between homes), transitional care housing for discharged patients that helps them return to daily life.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Gwanak Health and Care Connection Center at the Sillim Community Welfare Center in Gwanak District the same day to review the program's performance and hear from staff. The center runs massage services for older adults' health management, fall-prevention exercise classes and nutrition programs. After the meeting, Oh visited the home of a user of the integrated care program in their 70s who lives nearby.
"Everyone shares the same wish — to keep living among neighbors in the home and neighborhood they have long known, even as they age or face difficulties from illness or disability," Oh said. "We will build an even denser community care network so that every resident can continue a healthy and dignified daily life where they already live."