KB News Desk
The Ministry of Health and Welfare carried out a total of 696,566 heat-response health management cases through its home-visit health care program over about a month of severe heat, it said Tuesday.
The figure covers the period from July 13 through Monday.
Under the program, nurses visit homes and senior community centers to assess and counsel vulnerable groups and people aged 65 and older on their health.
The program’s budget rose about 8 percent from 45.735 billion won ($32.3 million) in 2022 to 49.323 billion won this year. It draws on some 3,000 home-visit staff at 264 public health centers nationwide, and as of June served about 1.01 million people.
The ministry cited a case on July 30, when a heat advisory was in effect, in which staff noticed warning signs in an elderly person working in a field in Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and persuaded the person’s children to arrange hospital treatment for heat illness.
Second Vice Health Minister Lee Hyung-hoon inspected the effort Tuesday, visiting the Joseph Clinic in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, before visiting the homes of elderly residents living alone.
“The role of medical institutions and public health centers that look after people’s health is very important. Based on what I saw and heard on site, we will strengthen our policies for responding to heat waves and protecting vulnerable groups,” Lee said.
