Strengthening customized care services for the elderly in preparation for a super-aging society

Uijeongbu City (Mayor Kim Dong-geun) is actively implementing various welfare projects to ensure a stable old age for the elderly in preparation for the rapidly progressing super-aging society. Among these, the ‘Elderly Tailored Care Service’ and the ‘Emergency Safety Reassurance Service’ are attracting attention as representative projects that protect the health and safety of the elderly and prevent social isolation.

[Korean Today] Uijeongbu City, Strengthening Preparation for Super-Aged Society_Customized Senior Care Service © Reporter Eunyoung Kang

The customized elderly care service is a project that provides customized safety checks, social participation support, provision of goods, and housekeeping support to the elderly over 65 years of age who need care. This service is provided to the elderly whose income and assets are below a certain standard, such as those receiving basic livelihood security, the lower-income class, and basic pension recipients. Currently, 202 life support workers from 4 implementing organizations are providing services to 2,835 elderly people. The city plans to discover approximately 200 additional recipients this year.

As the heat wave this year has been stronger than usual, Uijeongbu City is providing a daily health check-up service to protect the health of the elderly who are vulnerable to heat waves. 202 life support workers have been providing guidance on how to prepare for heat waves and how to use heat shelters, and have been doing their utmost to prevent heat-related illnesses. In addition, they are preventing social isolation of the elderly through periodic health checks and emotional support.

[Korean Today] Uijeongbu City, Strengthening Preparation for Super-Aged Society_Implementation of Emergency Safety Services © Reporter Eunyoung Kang

The Emergency Safety Reassurance Service is a care business that uses information and communication technology (ICT) to manage emergency situations in real time for the elderly living alone, elderly couples, and grandparent-child households. This service automatically reports to 119 in the event of an emergency using cutting-edge equipment such as activity detectors and fire detectors, and supports emergency management personnel to respond quickly. Uijeongbu City installed this equipment in 880 high-risk households of elderly living alone through Songsan Senior Welfare Center, and achieved great results by handling 108 emergency situations in the first half of the year.

Mayor Kim Dong-geun of Uijeongbu said, “In order to create a city where seniors are happy, we established the ‘Elderly Welfare Department’ in July and are providing more specialized and detailed welfare services,” and “We will continue to do our best to ensure that everyone can enjoy a happy old age through welfare policies that seniors can feel.” Applications for customized senior care services and emergency safety and security services can be made through the local community center.