SEOUL (UCAN) -- Church and political figures were among hundreds who witnessed the opening of the new 22-story building of Seoul St. Mary’s hospital, now the largest Catholic hospital in the world, according to a hospital official. The official also claimed that the new building of the former Kangnam St. Mary Hospital, as it was called previously, is also the largest in Korea. The hospital now has a floor area of 190,000 square meters, and has 1,200 beds and about 3,500 medical staff, according to its website.
The official said that the hospital beds are larger than other hospitals, so as to make patients as comfortable as possible.
Hwang Tae-gon, president of the hospital, said in his welcoming address during the April 30 official opening that the hospital’s motto is "Kindness to patients."
"This grand opening is possible today thanks to people's trust and support," he added.
Construction of the new building started in May 2005. It was completed last December and received its first patients on March 23 this year.
Dignitaries attending the function included Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul; Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla, apostolic nuncio to Korea; Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life; four local bishops and South Korean Prime Minister Daniel Han Seung-soo.
Archbishop Padilla read a congratulatory message from Pope Benedict XVI in which the pontiff said he prays that "the physicians, nurses, administrators and staff ... respond generously to the Lord's commission to heal the sick and thus bear witness to the presence of God's kingdom among us."
Kim Seon-hwa, president of the hospital’s labor union, however, told UCA News that the hospital suffers from poor management. "I think its facilities and expertise of medical personnel are all right,” she said. “But that needs to be accompanied by efficient management policy."
Last December, about 100 people attended a Mass outside the Seoul archdiocese-run hospital in support of part-time workers whose contracts with the hospital were not renewed. (UCAN)
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The official said that the hospital beds are larger than other hospitals, so as to make patients as comfortable as possible.Hwang Tae-gon, president of the hospital, said in his welcoming address during the April 30 official opening that the hospital’s motto is "Kindness to patients."
"This grand opening is possible today thanks to people's trust and support," he added.
Construction of the new building started in May 2005. It was completed last December and received its first patients on March 23 this year.
Dignitaries attending the function included Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul; Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla, apostolic nuncio to Korea; Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life; four local bishops and South Korean Prime Minister Daniel Han Seung-soo.
Archbishop Padilla read a congratulatory message from Pope Benedict XVI in which the pontiff said he prays that "the physicians, nurses, administrators and staff ... respond generously to the Lord's commission to heal the sick and thus bear witness to the presence of God's kingdom among us."
Kim Seon-hwa, president of the hospital’s labor union, however, told UCA News that the hospital suffers from poor management. "I think its facilities and expertise of medical personnel are all right,” she said. “But that needs to be accompanied by efficient management policy."
Last December, about 100 people attended a Mass outside the Seoul archdiocese-run hospital in support of part-time workers whose contracts with the hospital were not renewed. (UCAN)
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