Hospital accepts and treats patients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Where is the largest eye hospital in Asia? One might suggest that it might be in Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore or Hong Kong.
It is in Seoul, South Korea, more precisely in the Yeongdeungpo District in the southern part of the Capital City of the Republic of Korea.
It is named Kim's Eye Hospital and is headed by a lady doctor, Ms. Yonglan Kim, which is not very common anywhere in the world--let alone Korea.

Established 53 years ago in 1962, Kim's Eye Hospital has a long string of firsts or ‘little knowns.’ Offhand, Kim's Eye Hospital treats a total of over 400,000 patients a year and a total of an upwards of 23,000 patients are operated on for the recovery and improvement of their eye sight by a total of 46 seasoned and renowned ophthalmologists.
Kim's Eye Hospital is rated as the first in the world in terms of operation and management of such a large number of specialized centers, e.g., the Retina Hospital, the Cornea Center, the Cataract Center, the Lasic Center, the Glaucoma Center, the Oculoplastic Center and the Strabismus Center.
“It is our fixed conviction that anyone suffering from an eye trouble should be entitled to a proper treatment at any time,” said Director Ms. Yonglan Kim of the Kim? Eye Hospital at a recent interview with The Korea Post. “With this motto, we have been treating patients 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.”

A graduate of the prestigious Yonsei University in Seoul and Konyang University with a Master’s degree in Hospital Management, Director Kim said that to provide the patents with top-quality treatment Kim? Eye Hospital has established specialized centers to provide the patients with specified treatment and care.
She explained that Kim's Eye Hospital has also been making unreserved investments in the research and development area so that the Hospital could offer adequate treatment also to intractable cases.
The hospital carries out various social welfare projects to contribute to the construction of a healthy society, which include free medical attention and care on a regular basis for the elementary school children and senior citizens at the welfare facilities. This free medical service is provided also to needy patients out of the Republic of Korea in the spirit of sharing pains of the unfortunate people.

She said that medical environment has changed from a hospital-centered medical market to a patient-centered one and that therefore the Hospital is doing the best it can to make the patients feel at home at the hospital.
“We want to expand our service to all the peoples around the world,” said Director Kim, “and in this effort we wish to increase the range of cooperation with the international community, especially the diplomats accredited to Korea.” She said that she wished to invite the interested chiefs of foreign missions and their families in Korea to her hospital for inspection with an eye to increasing cooperation with them.
Kim's Eye Hospital has recently won the covetous Certificate of the Joint Commission International as a result of a thorough inspection and investigation by the Commission in the area of ‘Ambulatory Care Program.’ Kim's Eye Hospital won 9.91 points of the total 10 points. Kim's Eye Hospital is the first one to win such an honor in the Republic of Korea.

Kim's Eye Hospital is also providing training to medical personnel in the form of transfer of professional skills and technology to Cambodia at a total cost of US$2.5 million for the National Ang Duong Ophthalmological Hospital which was established in Phnom Penh by the Cambodian Government in May this year in cooperation with KOICA that provided support through supply of construction materials to build it.
As part of a social welfare program, Kim's Eye Hospital sponsors a golf meeting for the people with retarded eye sight once every year to provide the unfortunate people with a sense of confidence in themselves and achievement and also to improve the general public’s attitude toward blind persons. Starting in 2009, many people with retarded eye sight join this golf meeting to win the Kim? Eye Hospital Cup.