I’m Dr. Toshimitsu Murohisa, and I assumed the office of Director at Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital in April of 2021.  During my time in this role, I hope to contribute to the continued improvement of our facility, as well as to the further development of medical services in the local region. I appreciate whatever support you can provide me in my new mission.

The forerunner of Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital was the Japan Medical Group’s Ashikaga Hospital, which was established on November 1, 1945. It became Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital with the disbanding of the Medical Group on July 1, 1949, and has been the leading medical institution in the Ryomo region now for some 70+ years. When founded, it was located at the foot of Mt. Ryogai in Ashikaga, and had just 23 beds, but by 1999 had grown to 620 beds and to be the largest medical facility in the Ryomo region. This growth came at a price; the hospital eventually outgrew the land on which it was located, and the facilities began to show their age, limiting its ability to provide the best medical care. So in 2011, the hospital moved to our current, completely new and state-of-the-art facilities near the Watarase River.

The new hospital was designed with three primary themes in mind: First, to provide patients with privacy and a pleasant environment for recovery, all general wards were built entirely with private (one-person) rooms. Secondly, as a “next-generation green hospital,” it was designed to coexist harmoniously with the environment by making full use of natural energy sources. And finally, it was built to withstand all conceivable natural disasters in order to serve as a central point for recovery and support should a crisis befall the region. In particular, the private rooms at the hospital are very well-received by our patients. These rooms provide not only comfort but, more importantly, protection since private rooms serve as a natural impediment to the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19 which is impacting society so severely at present.

In February of 2021, our certification by the Joint Commission International (JCI) was renewed for the second time. The JCI, based in the United States, certifies hospitals around the world for patient safety and quality of care by checking thousands of aspects of their medical operations. While adhering to these strict standards and evaluations does put a burden on our staff, we feel it also instills a culture of providing the highest-quality care for our patients, and of striving for continuous improvement.

In recent years, the pace of innovation in medical technology has been stunning. At our facility, we have created hybrid operating rooms which permit the use of the “DaVinci” robotic surgery system and other new technologies, and we plan to continue to provide patients with the latest advances in medical care.

Sadly, there is still no clear end in sight to the coronavirus pandemic. In order to prevent the introduction of the virus into the hospital, we are currently not permitting patient visitation. We appreciate your understanding of this policy, and your continued cooperation on submitting to temperature checks, practicing hand disinfection and, of course, wearing a mask when you visit us.

Going forward, we want to strengthen our role as the central medical facility for the region, and plan further improvements in our networking with other institutions, emergency medical care, and disaster relief abilities.  We haven’t forgotten our creed, which is to dedication to establishing a hospital where all patients are happy to have been treated, and all employees are happy to work, and we hope that all members of the community and those who work with us will continue to support us in attaining that goal.