Takamatsu Red Cross Hospital has just completed a renovation project that spanned about a decade, ushering in a new era as a base hospital that underpins medical services in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, and its surrounding area.
A grand opening ceremony was held at the hospital on June 17, with medical professionals from nearby areas invited to preview the hospital's facilities.
The project involved the construction of the hospital's central medical treatment building in 2014 and the main building's helipad-topped North Tower, which went into service in 2020. The completion of a parking lot in May this year capped the extensive work.
About 70 people, including the heads of other hospitals nearby, attended the commemorative ceremony.
In his remarks, Kagawa Gov. Toyohito Ikeda, who doubles as head of the Kagawa chapter of the Japanese Red Cross Society, said, "This renewal has improved the hospital's usability. We would like to provide elevated levels of medical service to the people so they can live safely and with peace of mind."
Yasuki Kihara, head of the Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital, delivered a keynote speech.
During a preview session, medical professionals in the region toured an operating room that has consolidated angiography and computed tomography functions, a device called a linear accelerator, or linac, that destroys cancer cells with high-energy X-rays, as well as the da Vinci surgical assistance robot.
The newly built parking lot has meant additional parking space for about 80 vehicles, including 10 for people with special needs, according to the hospital's general affairs division. As an anti-disaster measure, an underground fuel tank has been built, providing the hospital with up to three days of emergency electrical power.
"We intend to make further contributions to protecting the health and lives of local people," hospital director Kazunobu Nishimura said.
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