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NATIONAL REHABILITATION CENTER FOR DISABLED CHILDREN |
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Tuesday October 30,1979 The Japan Times UNICEF Support Helps Handicapped Children History of Seishi Ryogoen Hospital:Stigma Gives Way to Hope and Pride ( By JAN CORASH)
Although the stigma of having a handicapped child dies hard in Japan, feelings of shame are now at last giving way to hope, expectation, even pride. The history of Seishi Ryogoen Hospital in Tokyo is really the history of that change. In the dark days of following the end of the second World War, when Japan was still at receiving end of assistance from the United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF), part of UNICEF's help went to the still young Seishi Ryogoen, whitch had benn devastated in the fire bombings of Tokyo and was struggling to get on its feet again. Today, government of Japan has singled Seishi Ryogoen out of further substantial expansion and improvement as one of its major projects for the International Year of the Child(IYC). The hospital, in Tokyo's Itabasi Ward, is to become more than ever the mainspring of Japan's efforts to give the disabled child a generous place in the sun.
Birth and Resurrection One of the first leaders in the struggle to overcome attitudes of shame toward hadicapped children in Japan was the late Dr.Kenji Takagi, professor of orthopedics at Tokyo University of Medicine. As early as 1914 he campaingned for the establishment of a rehabilitation program for the handicapped. Misunderstood, suspected of propagating subversive views, he nevertheless persevered, and in 1935, succeeded in organaizing what is known today as the Japanese Society for Crippled Children. In 1942 the society established a 105-bed hospital and rehabilitation center for crippled children. This was Seishi Ryogoen. When the war ended, only the nurses' domitory was still standing. It quickly became the new hospital. There, the treatment of some 25 children continued.
Assistance UNICEF assistance to Japan began in 1949 with donations of powdered skim milk, and today many "UNICEF babies"are rising to positions of influence and responsibility in Japanese society. UNICEF also provided cotton and wool from whitch branket and clothing were manifauctured for the needy. Its assistance to Seishi Ryogoen can be linked to the early efforts of Dr. Fumihide Koike, present director of the hospital. IN 1950 Dr. Koike traveled to the United States on a United Nations fellowship grant to study the most modern methods of orthopedic rehabilitation. The report he wrote on his return brought Dr.Mareia Hays, at that time California state director of social services, to Japan as a World Health Organization(WHO) consultant. Next five doctors from Seishi Ryogoen went as WHO fellows to the United States for training, and UNICEF donated therapy equipment, modern medical textbooks and beds. As one nurse reminisces, the staff was overwhelmed by the large,well equipped beds complete with pulleys and rings for traction. The hospital had previously possessed only tatami mats and wooden beds. The shortage of materials was, indeed, so acute at that time that even from the wood from the packing crates was kept and used. Later in the 1950's UNICEF also donated books and equipment to the fledgling prefectural rehabilitation centers.
Government Support In 1947 the Japanese government first acknowleged the problem of the handicapped by including disabled children in the existing orthopedics and Law. This was an important event ,because it recognized not only existence of such children in Japan but also their right to be helped. It acknowledged that rehabilitation was possible. For that watershed development Seishi Ryogoen could legitimately claim some part of credit. Equally important were the economic consequence of the new law, which empowered the Ministry of Health and Welfare to begin subsidizing the construction of new national and prefectural rehabilitation centers throughout Japan. Since then,Seishi Ryogoen -now recognized as the "National Center for the rehabilitation of the Handicapped"-has been put on a semi-governmental basis.
Effect of IYC As part of its IYC commemoration,the government is -as one official put it -attempting to "open the door wider for the handicapped" Seishi Ryogoen will become a General Medical Treatment Center for Handicapped Children. In addition to advice and treatment,it will conduct research and train personnel. As a first order of business,the operating theater will be completly overhauled at a cost of $1.5 million.Special appropriations have also been made to equip 20 major cities throughout Japan to become "welfare cities for the handicapped."
Seishi Ryogoen 1979 Seishi Ryogoen today is the friendliest hospital I have ever visited. Nowhere else have I seen doctors playing with their small patients the atmosphere throughout is warm, kind and cheerful. Doctors nurses,therapists, aides and trainees work as a team. The equipment is thoroughly modern ,and the diagnostic and medical techniques totally up to date. Seisi Ryogoen is a unique position to enlighten the public about the possibilities of the handicapped. Take, for example,the mother and child class. From all over Japan they come, because, in the words of one mother, "There is nothing like this where I live. " Mothers and the children live together in the hospital throughout the three-month course. The mothers learn about their children's special needs and how to care for them. Since its inception in 1953, the course has served to bring the parents of handicapped children out of their isolation. Because of lingering feelings of dishonor and disgrace many of these mothers have not previously been able to talk with mothers facing similar difficulties. It may be first experience for many of these children to interact with others. Seishi Ryogoen has set out to educate the public about the crucial importance of early diagnosis. As a result it is not uncommon today to see treatment beginning at the age of 6 months. A change of attitude also accounts for the enormous growth in the number of out-patients under treatment. Much of the impetus generated by IYC will, in fact, be directed toward the establishment of a comprehensive out-patient center at Seishi Ryogoen. As planned, that center will have even a dental facility - to compensate for a lingering reluctance on the part of dentisits in private practice to spend precious time on handicapped children. It will have other new facilities as well- eye, ear and nose, and urology. These in addition to the existing orthopedics and pediatrics. In this time of changing attitudes, Seishi Ryogoen has no intention of resting on its laurels. On the contrary, its means to continue fighting for total rehabilitation. In the words of Dr. Koike: "We want to develop each child to his or her fullest potential so that as many children as possible can enter society and live useful lives." This emphasis on the need for the children to lead normal lives in their communites explains the upsurge in out-patient treatment. Celebrations for children are being held all over the world this year in commemoration of IYC. But what greater cause of celebration can there be than a handicapped child confirmed in the love of his parents and assured of a place in the sun? |