Health ministry to train 500 integrated care mentors

The health ministry said Thursday it will train about 500 experienced local officials to lead the rollout of community-based integrated care, a role it described as passing on field experience to the thousands of new staff joining the program.

The training, run jointly with the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health and Welfare, begins Sept. 29 at Osco in Cheongju and runs through Oct. 8 in five sessions, with 489 officials from 230 cities, counties and districts applying to take part.

The curriculum covers the values behind integrated care and the mentors' role, plus instruction on teaching and on coaching case management. The trainees will in turn provide training to roughly 4,000 dedicated integrated care staff due to be assigned in the second half of this year, with local governments scheduling those courses between October and December. The institute will supply a standard lecture plan and practice materials.

Rather than only going over rules and guidelines, the courses are built around field practice and discussion so that new staff can quickly assess the care situation in their areas, survey and monitor what residents need, and draw up individual support plans.

"The capacity and sense of mission of officials in cities, counties and districts are more important than anything else in community-based integrated care," First Vice Minister Hyun Soo-yup said. "I expect the mentors to serve as messengers for integrated care in their regions and help new staff adapt to their work."