WAKATSUKI Toshikazu, M.D. Honorary Superintendent

The Saku Central Hospital's Chronology of Major Events

1944
The hospital is established. (January)

1945
Construction of the clinical sector of the main building is completed. (February)
Dr. Toshikazu Wakatsuki is assigned as chief surgeon. (March)
The hospital staff begins to deliver medical care in local villages. (December)

1946
The Saku Central Hospital Workers Union is established with Dr. Wakatsuki designated as chairman. (February)
Dr. Wakatsuki is appointed hospital director. (October)

1947
The first Hospital Festival is held. (May)
The First Nagano Prefectural Study Meeting on Rural Health is held at the Saku Central Hospital. (August)
The hospital begins meal services for inpatients for the first time in Japan. (October)

1948
The hospital is designated as a teaching hospital for interns. (April)

1949
Ward No. 1 is destroyed by fire, and its reconstruction work is immediately begun. (December)

1950
The local Agricultural and Industrial Federation is disbanded and taken over by the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare. (August)
Some hospital leaders are purged under a directive of the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for Allied Powers but later rehabilitated in response to a demand from 45,000 local residents. (October)

1951
Construction of the Ward for Contagious Disease is completed. (March)

1952
The First General Assembly of the Japanese Association. of Rural Medicine is held in Nagano City. Dr. Wakatsuki is appointed president. (July)

1953
Dr. Wakatsuki's Healthy Villages is published by the Tokyo-based Iwanami Shoten publishing house. (October)

1954
The Koumi Clinic is established as a hospital branch with Dr. Zenzaburo Funazaki designated as director. (September)

1955
The hospital is developed into the category of general hospitals under the Medical Care Law. (May)
The hospital is given a grant-in-aid by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for its studies on the cold. (July)

1956
Dr. Wakatsuki receives the Award of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine at its Fifth General Assembly. (October)

1957
Construction of the Ward for Psychiatry and its annexed workshop and the Ward for Caries are completed. (April)

1958
A joint struggle is launched with the local Medical Association and administrative authorities against the central governments decision to start the over-the-counter collection of fees for medical care under the National Health Insurance Scheme. (March)

1959
Yachiho Village's health screening program is started, covering all residents. (June)

1960
A branch hospital is opened in Komoro City with Dr. Teiji Iijima designated as director. (April)
The Nursing College Annexed to the Saku Central Hospital is established. (September)

1961
The first Summer University on Rural Health program is held. (August)

1962
Calisthenics of the kind which is designed by the hospital staff is tested at Oishi in Yachiho Village. (March)
Dr. Wakatsuki is given the Cultural Award by the local newspaper Shinano Mainichi. (November)

1963
Annexed to the hospital, the Nagano Prefectural Institute of Rural Medicine is established. (January)

1864
Construction of the Degenerative Disease Center is completed. (January)
Dr. Wakatsuki is given the Award of the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. (April)
The 13th General Assembly of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine is held in the town of Togura, Nagano Prefecture, with Dr. Wakatsuki as congress president. (October)

1965
Nationwide attention is drawn to studies on pesticide poisoning introduced to the 7th Conference on Farmers' Health in Tokyo (.November)

1967
The first construction phase of the hospitals new main building (seven floors plus one underground floor) is completed, followed by the second phase. (February)
Dr. Funazaki visits North Vietnam as chief of the Japanese Committee for the International Tribunal on American Crimes. He also attends the Tokyo Tribunal and the International Tribunal in Copenhagen as a witness. (November)

1968
The second phase of construction is completed. (May)
The hospital is designated as a teaching hospital for residents. (July)

1969
Construction of the Rural Health Training Center is completed as a facility annexed to the Japan Institute of Rural Medicine. (May)
The IV International Congress of Rural Medicine is held at the Saku Central Hospital with the participation of 600 medical workers from 26 countries and with Dr. Wakatsuki as congress president and Dr. Funazaki as chairman of the Executive Committee. (October) 　

　

1970
The Komoro Branch Hospital becomes an independent hospital. (April)
As chief of the Fourth Vietnam Survey Team, Dr. Funazaki, the then chairman of the Saku Central Hospital Workers Union, visits North Vietnam to perform a fact-finding tour on the teratogenecity of 2,4,5-T. (December) 　　

1971
Dr. Wakatsuki's book Combating Diseases in Villages is published by Iwanami Shoten and another book, entitled Rural Medicine, by Keiso Shobo. (August)

1972
The 1972 Social Services Award is given to Dr. Wakatsuki by the newspaper, The Asahi Shimbun. (January)

1973
The Health Care Center is opened on the compounds of the hospital for the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare. (October)
The 1st Asian Congress of Rural Medicine is held at the hospital. (October)

1974
Programs begin in commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Founding of the Saku Central Hospital. (November)
Renovation of the East Ward for the departments of psychiatry and neurology is completed. (December)

1975
Events are held in commemoration of the 30th anniversary. The second issue of the magazine Saku Byoin and a book of photographs, entitled Steps in the Last 30 Years, are published. A documentary movie is produced under the title of Together With Farmers for 30 Years. (March)

1976
Dr. Wakatsuki is given the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian version of the Nobel Prize, for his contributions to the development of rural medicine. (August)
The ground-breaking ceremony for the Japan Rural Health Care Training Center is held. (December)

1977
The Japan Rural Health Care Training Center begins training projects. (November)

1978
The use of a computerized CT scanner begins. (February)
Dr. Wakatsuki presides over the Yomiuri Shimbun-sponsored symposium on emergency care, thus paving the way for the start of medical education for fire station personnel. (June)

1979
Ward No. 1 (for tuberculosis) is torn down and the construction of facilities additional to the Ward for Degenerative Disease begins. (August)
A 20-chanel auto-analyzer (SMAC) is installed in the Health Care Center with grants-in-aid from the Nagano Prefectural Government and the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Mutual Aid. (September)

1980
Construction of the Ward for Degenerative Disease (ward for the reinforced treatment of degenerative disease, the department of clinical pathology, etc.) is completed. (February)
Dr. Wakatsuki is designated as vice president of the Japan Hospital Association. (April) The hospitals baseball team goes as far as to vie in a semifinal of the adults softball division of the National Athletic Meeting in Tochigi Prefecture. (October)

1981
With the establishment of the Management Committee for Medical Care in Out-of-the-Way Hamlets in Minamisaku County, three villages in the southern part of the county (Minamimaki, Minamiaiki and Kitaaiki) fall under the Saku Central Hospitals jurisdiction of medical care. Dr. Wakatsuki receives the Second-class Order of the Rising Sun, for his contributions to the development of rural medicine and the practice of community care. (April)

1982
The hospitals baseball team participates in the 37th National Athletic Meeting, representing Nagano Prefecture, and wins in the tournament of the adults division. (October)
Construction of a 50-bed ward for degenerative disease is completed on the fourth floor, bringing the total number of beds in the hospital to 1,003. (December)

1983
The Cancer Center of the Saku Central Hospital and the Health Care Center of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare are completed. (March)
The hospital is designated by the national and prefectural governments as a life-saving and emergency care center. (October)
The hospitals baseball team wins in the adults softball division of the 38th National Athletic Meeting. (October)
Ceremonies are held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Health Care Center of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare. (October)

1984
The hospitals baseball team takes part in the 39th National Soft Baseball Championships for the Emperor's Trophy in Fukui City and wins the trophy. (September)
Construction of a 20-bed Human Dock is completed for sophisticated health checkups in response to a call from local communities. (December)

1985
Dr. Wakatsuki receives the First Award of the SMON Fund for his contributions to the establishment of rural medicine and the disuse of pesticides of organic mercury and chlorine. (August)
The hospitals baseball team takes part in the National Soft Baseball Championships for the Emperor's Trophy and wins the trophy, becoming the third team in history to score two wins in a row. (August)

1986
The themes NHK TV Drama Life and Rural Medicine and Geriatric Health Services Facility in Saku as a Model for the Nation are taken up at the 40th Hospital Festival. (May)

1987
Construction of a theater for all-inclusive operations and a 20-bed life-saving and emergency care center is completed. (May)
Annexed to the hospital, the 30-bed Geriatric Health Services Facility is opened as part of a central governments model project. (July)

1988
Takeshi Kawakami's book Rural Medicine to Medicopolis -- Toshikazu Wakatsuki's Spiritual History is published by Keiso Shobo. (June)
The Saku Institute of Oriental Medicine is opened with Dr. Wakatsuki as director. (July)

1989
Tetsuo Shimoda (pen name: Keishi Nagi) on the staff of internal medicine receives the 100th Akutagawa Prize for his novel Diamond Dust. He is given the Nagano Prefectural Governors Prize. (May)
The number of beds in the annexed Geriatric Health Services Facility is increased from 30 to 94. Visitors come one after another from across the nation to familiarize themselves with the delivery of care to the elderly. (June)

1990
Dr. Funazaki dies of idiopathetic and interstitial pneumonia, and funeral services are held in the name of the hospital. (August) Sixteen members of the Social and Labor Committee of the House of Representatives visit the hospital to study issues on aging and make a tour of the Geriatric Health Services Facility and the Health Care Center. (September)
The Japan Medical Association (JMA) gives Dr. Wakatsuki the Supreme JMA Award for his contributions to the development of rural medicine and the enhancement of comprehensive medical care. (November)

1991 Production of the documentary motion picture We Hate Hospitals is completed by Iwanami Movie Productions. It depicts the home care delivered by the hospital. (January)
Ceremonies for the laying of the cornerstone for an additional building and a dormitory are held at the Saku Central Hospitals Nursing College, as the number of students is to be increased from 50 to 80 in 1992. (May)

1992
The construction work for the Nursing College is completed with a grant-in-aid from the local Prefectural Government. (April)
As proposed by Fujio Otani, former director general of the Bureau of Medical Affairs, Ministry of Health and Welfare, the system of the Wakatsuki Award is instituted in commemoration of what he has done for community care for many years. Presentation of the first Wakatsuki Award is made when the summer university program is held at the hospital. (July)

1993 The Study Group on Primary Health Care which consists mostly of young medical workers is organized to discuss about the future of the hospital once a month. (July)
As Dr. Zhang Zikuan, vice president of the Chinese Rural Health Association, and many other guests are invited, ceremonies are held in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Health Care Center of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare. (October)
Because of the amendments made in the Statute of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare, Dr. Wakatsuki is designated as superintendent and Dr. Shinji Sasaki as deputy superintendent. Construction work for an expansion of the Human Dock is started to meet the increase in the number of examinees for an overnight stay. (November)

1994
Dr. Matsushima assumes the hospitals directorship, while Dr. Shigefumi Shimizu and Dr. Shusuke Natsukawa are designated as deputy directors. (January)
The 48th Hospital Festival is held under the main theme of Looking Back on the Hospital's 50 Years. (May)
Ceremonies are held for completion of a 25-bed facility for the Human Dock. (June)
The hospital starts issuing prescriptions for purchase at outside pharmacies under the national policy of separating medical care from medicines. (June)
The hospitals baseball team takes part in the National Baseball Championships for the Emperors Trophy and becomes one of the nation's eight best teams. (September)
Ceremonies and parties are held in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Komi Clinic as the pivot for the delivery of medical care to four villages in the southern part of Minamisaku County. (September)
The Department of Community Care is newly established. In this conjunction, the Statute of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare is amended. (October)
The hospitals baseball team takes part in the 49th National Athletic Meeting in Aichi Prefecture to become fifth winner. (October)
Ceremonies are held for the laying of the cornerstone for a building which will contain the Home Care Support Center, Home Nursing Station and the Saku Institute of Oriental Medicine. (October)

1995
The hospital organizes a first-aid team to deliver medical care to sufferers from the Greater Hanshin Earthquake for three months. (January)
Construction of the building housing the Home Care Support Center, Home Nursing Station and the Saku Institute of Oriental Medicine is completed. (April)
During this year, the motion picture Together With Farmers which depicts the hospitals activities is shown at various places across the nation.

1996 The 50th Hospital Festival is held to draw more than 12,000 visitors. (May)
Construction work starts for an expansion of the Life-Saving and Emergency Care Center and for a new section for outpatient services. (August)

1997
The hospital is officially designated as a Pivotal Hospital for Disasters. (January)
The department of all-inclusive outpatient services is opened to start the delivery of medical care. (May)
Ceremonies are held in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Geriatric Health Services Facility. (July)
At the XIII International Congress of Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health in Iowa City, the United States, Dr. Wakatsuki is strongly urged to withdraw his wish to retire as secretary general. (September)

1998
Dr. Wakatsuki retires as superintendent of the Saku Central Hospital and is designated as honorary superintendent. (April)