Myongji Hospital received a commendation from Gyeonggi Province for revitalizing the dementia management system in the province surrounding the capital Seoul.
According to the hospital, Myongji became the first private hospital to launch a public healthcare project group in 2013 and established the "Centenarian's Good Memory Dementia Management and Support Center" to provide management support services systematically for each stage of dementia.
The center provides early dementia screening, dementia prevention, and awareness projects and develops brain health promotion programs.
In addition, the center operates the Centenarian's Good Memory School. It provides cognitive training, art and music therapy, and dementia rehabilitation for patients with mild cognitive impairment and early dementia living in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.
The hospital has also periodically held dementia-related symposiums, forums, and academies for academic development.
The hospital explained that such efforts had led to the hospital receiving the International Hospital Federation (IHF) Excellence Award in 2015 and the Hospital Management Asia (HMA) Congress' Hospital Management Grand Prize in 2016.
Since 2016, Myongji has been operating the Gyeonggi Province's Dementia Center, overseeing dementia management in the province.
The dementia center carries out tasks such as planning and implementing mid- to long-term dementia management projects in Gyeonggi Province, treating, protecting, and managing dementia patients, and producing and distributing dementia prevention promotional materials.
Also, through close cooperation with public health centers and local dementia care centers, the hospital supports cognitive rehabilitation programs, operates health classes, and participates in campaigns to improve awareness of dementia.
"Myongji Hospital is the first private hospital to launch a public healthcare project group, and is contributing to the development of Korea's healthcare through participation in and support for various projects," Myongji Hospital President Kim Jin-goo said. "In the future, we will take the lead in preventing and managing dementia and improving awareness, and we will make efforts to overcome dementia."