Incheon's Namdong-gu integrated care program tops 500 applicants

The number of applicants to Incheon's Namdong-gu integrated community care program has surpassed 500.

Namdong-gu, which laid the groundwork through a pilot project last year, is accelerating efforts to build a community-centered care system linking medical, long-term care, welfare and residential services.

The district announced Wednesday that cumulative applicants to its integrated care program — launched in line with the enforcement of the Act on Integrated Support for Local Care including Medical and Long-term Care Services — have reached 506, with a total of 1,356 service referrals made to those applicants.

The integrated care system is designed to help residents who face difficulties in daily life due to frailty, disability or illness continue living in their own communities, rather than relying on facilities or hospitals, by providing comprehensive support tailored to their needs.

Namdong-gu established the foundation for the program in September last year when it joined the Ministry of Health and Welfare's integrated care pilot project.

When the related legislation took effect in March, the district fully launched an integrated support system that organically connects the medical, health management, long-term care, welfare and residential sectors.

The program moves beyond simply delivering services, focusing instead on drawing up individualized support plans by comprehensively assessing each recipient's health condition, living environment, economic circumstances and care needs.

Daily living care accounts for the largest share of services referred so far, at 690 cases. Health management and prevention followed with 249 cases, long-term care with 139, medical services with 133, residential welfare with 90 and other services with 55.

Support for residents with complex care needs is also being strengthened. The district has held 13 integrated support meetings — involving not only public institutions but also private-sector specialists — reviewing 470 agenda items to date.

Through these meetings, officials comprehensively review each recipient's situation, develop individualized integrated support plans, and coordinate and connect the necessary services.

The district also runs community-specific projects to address everyday care needs that public care services alone cannot meet. The initiative aims to minimize gaps in care by providing services closely tied to residents' daily lives — including housekeeping, meal delivery, transportation, home bathing, hair care and home environment improvements — tailored to each recipient's needs and living conditions.

Going forward, the district plans to expand integrated care beyond simple service linkages into a community-wide care network rooted in residents' daily living zones.

"Integrated care is a core policy of community care that helps residents who need assistance continue to live healthy and stable lives where they have always lived," Namdong-gu Mayor Lee Byeong-rae said. "We will further strengthen public-private cooperation and expand community-specific projects to build an integrated care system where residents can feel real change in their lives."