Korea's first "infectious disease hospital" will begin construction in the first half of this year.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said Thursday that it would build a hospital specializing in infectious diseases at Chosun University Hospital through public bidding. The bidding will be held for 43 days until Feb. 22 through the Korea Online E-Procurement System.
Construction will begin in the first half of this year for completion by 2026.
Infectious disease hospitals are designated under the Infectious Disease Prevention Act to respond to large-scale infectious disease crises and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will build the central infectious disease hospital at the National Medical Center, and the KDCA will build five regional infectious disease hospitals.
The Jeolla Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital was decided to be built at Chosun University Hospital in August 2017 through a public competition as part of the national epidemic prevention measures after the MERS outbreak.
The Jeolla Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital has undergone various review processes on its function and composition since 2017. Still, it has experienced difficulties securing funding due to the step-by-step implementation of procedures and rising inflation.
However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, a social consensus was formed on expanding infectious disease specialty hospitals amid the lack of beds for critically ill patients, accelerating the project through close cooperation between related organizations and Chosun University Hospital.
The total project cost of the Jeolla Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital is 78.1 billion won ($59.4 million), with the central government investing 58.2 billion won and Chosun University Hospital shouldering 19.9 billion won.
The infectious disease specialty hospital will be built on a site of 13,202 square meters with seven floors above ground and two underground floors. It will have 98 beds, including 36 negative-pressure beds. It will be an independent building to prevent infection in an epidemic.
It will have a CT imaging room and examination room to diagnose infectious diseases rapidly. To treat severe patients, the hospital will also have a negative pressure surgery room and a negative pressure ward room, plus an education and training room for medical personnel responding to infectious diseases. A BL3-level biosafety laboratory will also be built for testing and experimenting with new infectious disease viruses with a high fatality rate.
In a new infectious disease crisis, the center will serve as a control tower for infectious disease medical response in the southwestern region, focusing on treating critically ill patients and managing patient referral and transfer systems between cities and provinces.
During normal times, the center will strengthen infectious disease response capabilities by diagnosing, treating, and testing infectious disease patients and educating and training infectious disease response professionals at the region's public and private medical institutions.
"Based on the experience of the Jeolla Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital, we will continue to promote the establishment of infectious disease centers in the other four regions to serve as a strong bulwark to protect public safety and lives in the event of a future pandemic," KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee said.
KDCA will sequentially promote the establishment of infectious disease specialty hospitals in the remaining four regions, starting with the one in the southwestern area.
According to the agency, three regional infectious disease hospitals are in the design stage now. They are Chungcheong Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Cheonan, South Gyeongsang Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital at Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, and North Gyeongsang Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital.
Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital plans to complete construction by June 2027, while Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Cheonan and Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital aim to finish building them by February 2028.
The Seoul-Gyeonggi Provincial Infectious Disease Hospital, designated at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in April 2022, is making basic plans for completion by August 2030.