Hallym University Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University Medical Center(HUMC) held a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of its 6th hospital in Dongtan, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, on May 8, 2010.

Among 180 participants at the ceremony included Dr. Dai-Won Yoon, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hallym University, Dr. Young-Sun Lee, President of Hallym University, Dr. Hae-Ran Lee, HUMC President, Rep. Bo-Hwan Park, the Grand National Party(GNP), Mr. Hyung-Geun Choi, Deputy Mayor of Hwaseong, and journalists were in attendance.

The event started out with a progress report on the hospital construction by Dr. Ho-Geun Chang, director of the hospital construction preparatory committee, commemorative remarks by Chairman Yoon, introduction of the guests and a briefing on the construction project by Mr. Keuck-Soo Kim. The new hospital with 14 floors above and 3 floors underground will have the capacity of 800 patient-beds on the construction site of 21,000 square meters.

Chairman Yoon said, "With opening the new hospital in Dongtan, Hallym will materialize a vision of Mighty Hallym Initiative 2012-2015 and finally become one of the world's top 100 medical institutions in the future. The hospital will be devoted to improving the quality of medical care, providing local residents with accessible, high quality medical care based upon a ubiquitous healthcare system.

"The hospital will be built as a patient-centered, eco-friendly and most up-to-date ubiquitous digital hospital specializing in neuroscience, spine, emergency and trauma care. The construction work is expected to be completed by July, 2010 and the hospital will be open in the second half of the year," Director Kim added.

President Lee stressed, "We have worked on plans for the hospital's eight specialized medical centers to differentiate itself form other neighboring hospitals, and to establish itself as a community-centered hospital in the early stage. We will also redouble our efforts to secure competent human resources. The hospital will be equipped with an institution of life sciences to become one of the best medical care and research institutions with global competitiveness."

By Younghee Han, Int'l Operations Team, HUMC (symposium@hallym.or.kr)