The first Korean-type health promotion center opened in Middle East

The first Korean-type health promotion center opened in Middle East. March. 07, 2015 07:44. noel@donga.com.

Marina Health Promotion Center in the United Arab Emirates whose operation was commissioned to Seoul ST. Mary’s Hospital grandly opened on Friday.

The Marina center is the first of its kind in the Middle East where domestic know-how of Korea`s health care center is fully transferred. Having been built by VPS Healthcare Group in the UAE, the center will be run by Seoul ST. Mary’s Hospital for the next five years.

Eight-hundred pyeong, or 2,645 square meters in size, the center is located in Marina Mall in downtown Abu Dhabi. Currently, a total of 20 Koreans including 16 medical staffs are working at the center. Taking into consideration of unique characteristics of the Middle Eastern nation, the center has separate check-up rooms for male and female patients. It also has four medical clinics such as departments of internal medicine, internal medicine of heart, radiology and family medicine.

Seoul ST. Mary’s Hospital expects to generate over 40 billion Korean won (approx. 36 million U.S. dollars) in yearly income for the next five years, out of which 10 billion won (approx. 9.1 million dollars) will be paid to the hospital as operation commission. If patients with serious condition are diagnosed by the examination, they can be moved to Korea for the treatment, which could bring additional income to the country.

On the same day, Seoul ST. Mary’s Hospital and VPS Healthcare Group signed a cooperative agreement to establish the second health center in Dubai. “Unlike the export of simple medical infrastructure, the health care center is a smart export model that could bring about 2nd and 3rd value added,” said Seung Ki-bae, president of Seoul St. Mary`s Hospital. “We are determined to make this one a success so that Korea’s excellent medical service can make inroads into more countries in the Middle East.”

In the meantime, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Friday that it would open Pre-Post Care Center (PPCC) at Mafraq Hospital under the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi in order to help UAE patients come to Korea for medical tours. PPCC provides one-stop service for patients from counseling, preliminary check-up, domestic examination to follow-up treatment.

On Thursday, the ministry also signed a Cooperative Arrangement with the Health Authority of Sharjah, located in northern part of the UAE, for providing consulting service for building a pediatric cancer hospital and paid training in Korea for benchmarking the health insurance system. Upon the signing of a formal contract, the ministry would offer advice to the Sharjah health authority for the establishment of pediatric cancer center (30 beds) and generate profits from commissioned operation. It is expected that employees of the Health Authority of Sharjah come to Korea for paid trainings to learn Korea’s health insurance system.

“The UAE is the country where Korea’s medical wave is expanding in the fastest manner out of Middle Eastern countries. It is expected that Korean-type health promotion center and PPCC can be exported to more nations in the Middle East,” said Minister of Health and Welfare Moon Hyung-pyo who is accompanying on President Park Geun-hye for her tour to Middle East.