Seoul National University Hospital's Nexon Children's Integrated Care Centre (Dotori House) Celebrates First Anniversary of 'Giving Rest and Hope to Severely Ill Children and Their Families'
- Over the course of a year, 226 patients and their families were given opportunities to rest and recharge. Great response to the provision of caring and emotional support.
- Korea's first independent short-term medical care center establishes itself as a new medical care model.
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[Image] Thank you letter from A’s mum
<#> A Patient's Experience with Dotori House A (4 years old) was diagnosed with West syndrome, a rare and incurable brain developmental disorder, after birth. West syndrome is a disease that occurs between 4 and 6 months after birth and is characterized by recurrent convulsions and developmental delay. Due to this disease, A suffered from low oxygen saturation and difficulty breathing, and had to frequently visit the emergency room, experiencing many difficulties. Eventually, due to breathing and eating instability, he had to undergo a tracheostomy and gastrostomy surgery. A's mother experienced great physical and emotional hardships as she had to take care of other children as well. However, during May of this year, she was able to fully rest and spend precious time with her family for the first time through Dotori House. A’s mother said, “Thanks to this short yet meaningful vacation of 3 nights and 4 days, I was able to be a full-fledged mother to A’s older sister and older brother,” and “Thanks to Dotori House, I was able to keep the wish for my children to have their mother by their side when they wake up, and I was able to feel how happy and precious what seems like an ordinary day to others is for our family.” |
Seoul National University Hospital Nexon Children’s Integrated Care Center (hereinafter referred to as Dotori House) celebrated its first anniversary this month as the first independent short-term medical care center in Korea. Established with the support of Nexon and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Dotori House is a space where severe and rare disease pediatric patients under the age of 24 who require constant medical support such as ventilators or oxygen can safely stay without guardians while in a stable state. It provides comprehensive medical and care services to severely affected pediatric patients who require 24-hour care and their families, and has been relieving the burden of caregiving and providing opportunities for rest and recharge.
Over the past year, Dotori House has provided a space of rest and emotional support to approximately 226 patients and their families, establishing itself as a new model for domestic medical care. Dotori House has a total of 12 short-term hospital beds, a program room, a counselling room, and other facilities, and helps patients achieve emotional stability through play with volunteers and music therapy programs led by experts. The images of patients participating in the program are shared with their families in the form of photos and videos, so guardians can feel reassured by seeing their children living safely and happily even from afar. In addition, an emotional support program for patients’ siblings was introduced in April of this year to strengthen the bonds between all family members and support emotional stability.
Starting this July, the number of annual usage days was expanded from 20 to 30, allowing more families to benefit from the program. This gave guardians time to get health checkups they had been putting off while using Dotori House or spend time with other children to recharge. One guardian said, “It wasn’t easy to leave my child there even for a short while, but I felt relieved when I saw the photos and videos sent from Dotori House and saw my child’s happiness,” and “Dotori House is now a strong support base for our family.”
To commemorate these precious experiences and the first anniversary of the opening of Dotori House, a photo exhibition titled ‘Dotori House, First Fruit’ will be held from November 4th to 8th at the Insuljejung Square on the first basement floor of the SNUH University Hospital Daehan Outpatient Clinic Center. This exhibition contains precious moments of patients and their families who used Dotori House, and it reminds us of the meaning of rest and recharge that Dotori House provides to severely ill children and adolescent patients and their families. The photos containing the joyful smiles of patients, and the warm communication of their families leave visitors deeply moved.
On the 4th, government and Nexon officials attended the photo exhibition opening ceremony to celebrate the achievements of Dotori House. Nexon's 'Maple Story' donated 300 million won to support the center's operation and programs, and gave tablets to patients and their families to further improve their experience. On the 8th, a small concert for the hospital's faculty and staff will be held on the rooftop of Dotori House, where the faculty and staff will celebrate the 1st anniversary of the opening of Dotori House together.
Kim Young Tae, President of SNUH, said, “As the first national central hospital to operate an independent short-term medical care center in Korea, SNUH will do its best to provide a safe and warm shelter for critically ill pediatric and adolescent patients and their families.” He added, “We strive to deeply understand the difficulties experienced by patients’ families and continuously support the growth and development of Dotori House to aid them in moving toward a more hopeful future.”
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[Photo 1] The ‘Dotori House, First Fruit’ photo exhibition held at the Insuljejung Square on the first basement floor of the SNUH Daehan Outpatient Clinic |
[Photo 1] The ‘Dotori House, First Fruit’ photo exhibition held at the Insuljejung Square on the first basement floor of SNUH Daehan Outpatient Clinic |
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[Photo 3] SNUH Dotori House |
[Photo 4] SNUH Dotori House, Patient room
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