As 2011 began, little did two hospitals on opposite sides of the world know that by the end of the year, they would form an unexpected but important friendship. A little over two months into the year, Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture suffered the effects of the devastating tsunami that left them the only one of four hospitals remaining in the coastal fishing town of Ishinomaki.
After the disaster, the leadership team of Marin General Hospital (MGH) looked at how the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, affected Japan’s healthcare system and realized, “That could be us.” Marin General reached thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to form an international sister hospital relationship with the Japanese hospital to help replenish equipment, devices and supplies that were wiped out. The team also determined they could share a best-practices approach between the hospitals.
