July 29, 2011
A Jefferson Doctor's Medical Mission to Tsunami-Ravaged Town in Japan
By Josh Goldstein
On March 11, 2011, Takami Sato, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals, was hosting the president of a Japanese hospital network here in Philadelphia to discuss a medical exchange program.
The ordinary business of building medical ties between the two countries was cut short when news broke about the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. And when Dr. Sato’s guest was unable to contact one of the hospitals in a coastal town, everyone grew concerned.
It was unclear if the Onagawa Hospital was intact.
Dr. Sato, who specializes in treating melanoma of the eye, decided that he needed to help the people in Japan devastated by the natural disaster. So, instead of attending a medical conference as he intended, Dr. Sato took vacation time to travel to Japan.
After a night in Tokyo, Dr. Sato flew to Onagawa by helicopter, a trip that gave him a bird's-eye view of the destruction caused by the tsunami. More than a thousand people were homeless and basic infrastructures such as running water had failed.
Dr. Sato quickly went to work relieving the hospital’s physicians who had been working basically nonstop since the tsunami hit.
“I went to work as a general doctor, something I hadn’t done in 20 years since I left Japan to come to the U.S.,” he said. “We treated many patients with respiratory and GI infections. Many others were people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure who needed medical care and medications.”
Dr. Sato grew up on Kyushu, the third largest island of Japan and the southern most major island in the chain. While Kyushu was largely spared from the earthquake and tsunami, he still felt it was important to help those most impacted by the disaster.
Dr. Sato plans to return to Japan this summer to volunteer once more to help those affected.
The Daily Dose @Jefferson would like to thank the Japan Association for Development of Community Medicine (JADECOM) for sharing its video during and after the tsunami and giving Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals permission to use that footage.