Gyeonggi Province announced on September 3 that it will operate 36 regional emergency medical centers for three years starting November 1 of this year.

Under the Emergency Medical Service Act, regional emergency medical centers—which serve as key medical institutions responsible for the definitive treatment of severe emergency patients—are designated by the Minister of Health and Welfare.

On the other hand, local regional emergency medical centers are responsible for treating moderately severe emergency patients within their regions as well as providing primary accommodation and initial emergency care for severe emergency patients. They are designated by city and provincial governors.

Gyeonggi Province finalized the designation of these regional emergency medical centers following a review by the Gyeonggi Emergency Medical Committee on August 28.

With this new designation, four centers have been added to the previous 32, bringing the total to 36.

The newly designated facilities are ▲ Suwon Deoksan Hospital (Deoksan Medical Foundation), ▲ Pocheon Uri Hospital (Ilsim Medical Foundation), ▲ Wills Memorial Hospital (Thomas Medical Foundation), and ▲ Danwon Hospital (Plus Medical Foundation).

Previously, as the Ministry of Health and Welfare additionally designated Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital as a regional emergency medical center, the number of regional emergency medical centers within the province also increased from 9 to 10.

Gyeonggi Province plans to strengthen the roles and connectivity between regional and local emergency medical centers moving forward, while continuously reinforcing response systems in specialized fields such as pediatric emergency care and high-risk childbirth.

Through these efforts, the province aims to establish an emergency medical system that allows emergency patients to receive timely treatment at medical institutions suited to their severity and medical needs.

"Along with expanding the treatment infrastructure of regional and local emergency medical centers, we will enhance response capabilities in essential emergency medical fields such as pediatric care and high-risk childbirth to build a robust emergency medical system for our residents," said Yoo Young-cheol, Director-General of Health and Welfare at Gyeonggi Province.

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Province, Yonhap News)