地域とともに

――安城更生病院の71年――

抄録

  Anjo Kosei Hospital was instituted in March 1935. In those days many people in rural areas of our country were suffering from poverty and illness. Of the numerous agricultural cooperative hospitals and clinics that were established across the nation in the 1930s with the spirit of cooperation, many were inaugurated with a heroic resolve. However, the Kosei Hospital in Anjo founded by the Maruheki Association was fraught with optimism and great promise. The reason for this was that the county of Hekikai-gun was, at the time, called the “Denmark of Japan” and boasted the largest business expenses among all the counties in the nation. In order to return the surplus to group members, a plan to build a hospital was drafted with the advice of Nobukichi Yamazaki, the first principal of Anjo Norin (Agricultural and Forestry) Senior High School. He used to say, “The greatest threats to a farmer's livelihood are accidents and sicknesses. There can be no happiness without good health. We should build an agricultural cooperative hospital to provide its members with modern health care.”
  Initially, the hospital had 34 beds, eight medical departments, and 40 staff members, including seven physicians. Control over the hospital was transferred to Aichi Koseiren (the Aichi Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare) in 1948, after having tided over a shortage of labor prior to World War II and during the chaotic postwar period. The hospital began togrow rapidly, measuring up to the expectations and trust placed by local residents. Through enrichment of functions and expansion of the wards, the institution went on to become what could be called a citizens' hospital of Anjo and in fact, the largest hospital in the Nishi-Mikawa area. With the passage of time, the hospital got cramped for space and the buildings decrepit, adversely affecting not only the care environment but also disaster prevention measures. To maintain medical standards, hospital relocation was a must. In May 2002, the hospital moved to the present site, thanks in part to the support of the City of Anjo.
  After relocation, the hospital decided to give priority to treatment of acute diseases. Now, the number of hospital employees has been increased to 1,205, including 128 physicians and 676 nurses. In addition, there are 40 interns. Designated as an emergency medical care center, the hospital is the nucleus medical institution in the southern part of the Nishi-Mikawa area.
  However, due to the excessive concentration of patients in this hospital, it has come to pass that all the 692 beds are almost always occupied. This has inevitably made it difficult for the hospital to accept emergency patients. Measures to combat the situation, such as bed control, shortening the length of hospital stay and referring patients to other facilities have reached their limit. Therefore, further effort must be put into the division of hospital functions in the community. The required number of personnel such as physicians and nurses currently reaches the full quota, though only barely. Nonetheless, it would become more difficult even to maintain the present level.
  The 71-year history of Anjo Kosei Hospital reminds us of our predecessors' will and wishes to work hand in hand with the community to promote the health andwell-being of the people. We would like to continue to be a hospital that appeals not only to local residents but also to physicians and nurses by upholding the following basic principles:
1. To contribute to the health and happiness of local residents through health care.
2. To place patient care at the center of all the activities of the hospital.
3. To create a work environment which the staff can be proud of and feel happy with.