A new leap forward to patient-centered hospital! If the patient was my family, would I treat him in this hospital?
K-Medical Interview: Prof. Kwon, JungTaek, the new director of JoongAng University Hospital
Q. Medieus Queen : Hello. Following the chairman of the Korean Neurosurgery Association last year, you are inaugurated as the 23rd president of Chung-Ang University Hospital (hereinafter referred to as Chung-Ang University Hospital). Congratulations from the bottom of my heart and please introduce yourself and tell us how you feel.
A. Kwon Jung-taek, director of Chung-Ang University Hospital (hereinafter referred to as Kwon Jung-taek) : I graduated from Chung-Ang University Medical School, and have been a professor of neurosurgery at Chung-Ang University since 1996, and served as the head of the appropriate medical management department. Among the neurosurgery fields, I performed many treatments and surgeries in brain tumors and cerebrovascular fields. In the meantime, there have been many restrictions on activities due to COVID-19, and the hospital has also been in a slump. At the end of COVID-19, I feel a great responsibility to take the position of a hospital director, and I will make progress by responding to the increasing number of patients after COVID-19 and renewing the atmosphere inside the hospital. And we will cooperate in harmony with Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, which opened in March last year. This year, Chung-Ang University Hospital is subject to three major reviews: certification evaluation of medical institutions, screening of advanced general hospitals, and on-site examination of training. We will make efforts to achieve good results and realize the best medical treatment, research, and education at Chung-Ang University Medical Center to contribute to the promotion of people's health and happy lives.
Q. Medieus Queen : Recently, there was good news that 18 domestic hospitals, including Chung-Ang University, were included in the "2023 World's Best Hospital" conducted by Newsweek, a U.S. weekly magazine. When you took office as the hospital director, you emphasized the transformation and growth of Chung-Ang University Hospital into a safe and trusted patient-centered hospital for a new leap forward. I wonder what kind of plans you have for the future.
A. Kwon Jung-taek : In the 2022 announcement, Chung-Ang University was ranked in the top 10, and this year, it is regrettable that it fell to 12th, but Chung-Ang University is ranked fourth in single-person thesis and is also growing in size to 1,500 beds with the opening of Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital. Chung-Ang University has been loved and trusted by patients as it was evaluated as the No. 1 hospital in the evaluation of patients' experience. This is the result of the atmosphere in which employees and patients were close like family continued even after moving to Heukseok-dong from a small hospital in Pil-dong and Yongsan in the past. In order to be more qualified to be a large hospital in the future, Chung-Ang University Hospital will invest in the latest facilities and equipment and will strive to grow into a safer and more trusted patient-centered hospital with kindness and the best care for patients through faculty education. The greatest kindness to patients is to treat the disease well and make it completely cured. Doctors at Chung-Ang University Hospital ask themselves. "If the patient was my family, would I treat him in this hospital?" I am trying to make it a safe and reliable hospital where doctors can trust the hospital for their families. The latest equipment is important, but I know that every word of the doctor gives more strength to the patient. I'm still trying to get the surgical approval letter directly from the patient and take more time to explain it.
Q. Medieus Queen : Chung-Ang University Hospital is rated as a first-class hospital in the field of appropriateness for stroke treatment by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and is evaluated as a hospital with excellent results in minimizing aftereffects and recurrence while quickly treating cerebrovascular patients. Recently, I heard that the "Ahn Gun-young Cerebrovascular Center" has been newly opened and is further strengthening the treatment and research of cerebrovascular diseases and neurological patients. Please introduce the cerebrovascular center of Chung-Ang University Hospital.
A. Kwon Jung-taek : The cerebrovascular center was opened in September 2022 to strengthen the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases and neurological patients. This was established for the development of treatment, research, and education with the fund donated by Dr. Ahn Kyung-young, an alumnus of Chung-Ang University's medical school, who had a hard time with his family history of cerebrovascular disease. The cerebrovascular center operates a "fast-track system dedicated to cerebrovascular treatment." With Professor Nam Taekkyun and me at the center, it is composed of about 10 medical staff and dedicated nurses specializing in cerebrovascular diseases, including neurology, neurosurgery, and radiology to establish a rapid and systematic treatment system for severe cerebrovascular diseases. Cerebrovascular disease is a life-threatening and frightening disease, in which the golden time is very important, and an emergency medical system is essential. The cerebrovascular center of Chung-Ang University Hospital operates a 365-day, 24-hour emergency treatment system for various cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke (cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage), cerebral aneurysm, and cerebrovascular malformation. The specialists in charge of cerebrovascular treatment, such as neurosurgery, neurology, and radiology, are providing the best treatment to patients through rapid multidisciplinary cooperation. In addition, it has been reinforced in the field of intervention procedures with the additional introduction of state-of-the-art angiography equipment and it provides accurate diagnosis and safe treatment through various examination equipment such as CT, MRI, and cerebral blood flow ultrasound. In particular, neurosurgery and neurologists work together to treat cerebrovascular interventions such as intravascular thrombo-embolization and aneurysm coil embolization, which are essential for stroke treatment, showing high treatment success rates and treatment effects. Also, it is striving to improve the treatment of patients with severe cerebrovascular disease by strengthening detailed specialists and operating stroke intensive care units and plans to increase the capacity of patients with emergency cerebrovascular disease to 15 beds early next year.