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Small and medium-sized hospitals are struggling with severe business difficulties. University hospitals are also analyzing changes in the future medical environment and preparing countermeasures to survive competition from other hospitals. In particular, the Yoon administration’s decision to expand the number of medical schools for the first time in 19 years has led to strikes and collective actions by medical staff against it, and patients are suffering the consequences. PowerKorea met with Seongsu Kim, director of New Segyero Hospital in Tongyeong, who is providing the best medical services for the local residents.
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| ▲ New Segyero Hospital / Director Seongsu Kim |
New Segyero Hospital in Tongyeong is famous for hyperbaric oxygen therapy
“We are providing the best possible medical services to our patients in and around Tongyeong” says Kim. The hospital is a 99-bed facility from the first basement to the seventh floor and includes a hyperbaric oxygen treatment center, pain treatment center, gastroenterology/nephrology treatment center, plastic surgery, spine and joint treatment center, oriental medicine department, imaging center, and emergency medical center. The hyperbaric oxygen treatment center has introduced a state-of-the-art hyperbaric chamber that can treat up to 12 patients. “Decompression sickness, also called Cassion Disease or Bends, is common among people who work or play under the sea, such as divers, and is caused by a sudden change in pressure from high to low when you go underwater and come to the surface. When you dive, the air pressure increases, causing nitrogen to enter your body at a higher rate than it normally contains in air. Typically, the pressure underwater increases by 1 atm per 10 meters, so when a person is underwater and comes to the surface, the supersaturated nitrogen escapes, and if the nitrogen is not given enough time to escape and the person comes to the surface, the nitrogen builds up in the body and causes the symptoms of diving sickness” explains Kim. The time it takes for nitrogen to saturate the body varies depending on each tissue, and when the partial pressure of nitrogen is twice as high as the water pressure, it cannot vaporize and remains liquid in the blood. As the water pressure decreases, the liquefied nitrogen begins to vaporize, and if the water pressure does not rise slowly, the nitrogen forms bubbles that block the flow of blood vessels and cause decompression sickness. Typically, symptoms of decompression sickness appear during or after ascent, usually within 24 hours of ascent. However, people often ignore the symptoms of decompression sickness or attribute them to something other than diving. Even in foreign countries, studies have shown that 50% of people seek medical attention within 12 hours of experiencing symptoms. The number of diving illnesses is also on the rise, with the number of scuba divers rising to around 180,000. “Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases the pressure in the chamber by at least two atmospheres to breathe high concentrations of oxygen, which improves hypoxia, especially in the case of diving sickness, which is caused by nitrogen dissolved in the blood turning into bubbles. It is also suitable for wound treatment because the high concentration of oxygen helps new blood vessels grow, so hyperbaric oxygen therapy can be used to treat not only diving sickness, but also many other diseases that can be improved by oxygenation” explains Kim. This treatment is used to inhibit the activity of cancer cells, relieve cancer and radiation side effects, speed up surgical recovery, prevent lymphedema, increase immunity, enhance the effectiveness of anticancer drugs, scavenge free radicals, improve skin repair, plastic surgery, resin bonding, wounds, and burns.
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Joohun Kim is a master of facelift surgery in Korea
The hospital’s plastic surgery department is headed by Joohun Kim, a master of facelift surgery in Korea. He has over 20 years of experience in Busan, Ulsan, and Jeolla provinces, where he has built up a wealth of experience in facial aesthetic surgery. “Face lift surgery is a surgical procedure to improve sagging skin and wrinkles on the face. Surgical procedures usually leave behind scars. However, when it comes to cosmetic surgery, the key is to minimize the scope of the incision or to leave no scars at all. With our state-of-the-art medical equipment and 20 years of know-how, patients can have a delicate and professional surgery without having to travel to a big city” says Kim.
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The hospital that treats the heart of the patient
Kim says he was hesitant to acquire the hospital because of its nearly 10 billion won in debt, but the location and the fact that it was the only hyperbaric oxygen treatment center in Tongyeong at the time convinced him to take it on. He wants to make the hospital more patient-centered and become a trusted and reliable healthcare organization in the region. He reads more than 5 books a week and says wisdom of life is in books. He runs a hospital library on the lobby of the hospital, holds drawing competitions and engage in underwater clean up with the Tongyeong Diving Association. He also hires the disabled so that people can get equal opportunity. He believes that a hospital can only run if there are local residents, and in order to treat even the hearts of patients, he is expanding the medical department by recruiting skilled doctors with excellent medical services.
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