Greetings
We recognize that the word “emergency” often evokes a sense of unease in many people. Emergency medical care serves as the final safeguard within community healthcare, and it is an essential component of the system. Our department is responsible for the initial treatment of all patients transported by ambulance, as well as ongoing care in our specialized wards—including the Emergency Intensive Care Unit (EICU), Emergency High Care Unit (EHCU), and Burn Center.
When further specialized treatment is required, we collaborate closely with physicians from relevant departments and other healthcare professionals to deliver comprehensive, team-based medical care. When further specialized treatment is required, we collaborate closely with physicians from relevant departments and other healthcare professionals to deliver comprehensive, team-based medical care. To fulfill this mission, we have established a system that enables us to respond 24 hours a day, 365 days a year—particularly to urgent requests from local emergency teams at the scene. Our guiding principle: “We never turn down an emergency call.”
Director, Emergency Medical Center Chief, Department of Emergency Medicine
Seiji Morita
Treatment details
Our Emergency Medical Center serves the Shonan region as well as the western and central areas of Kanagawa Prefecture, functioning as a tertiary emergency care facility dedicated to the treatment of critically ill and injured patients. Since receiving official designation from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in 2002, we have played a central role in regional emergency medicine. As a base hospital, we operate the Kanagawa Doctor Helicopter, extending our reach across Kanagawa Prefecture and into southern Yamanashi Prefecture. We also actively participate in offshore emergency medical operations, collaborating with the Japan Coast Guard and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force to dispatch medical teams to vessels in distress throughout the Pacific Ocean.
In our capacity as a designated disaster base hospital, we are entrusted with supporting Kanagawa Prefecture’s coordinated disaster medical response system. Our facility maintains Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) that are fully equipped and ready to deploy to disaster sites as needed. Following the renovation of Tokai University Hospital in 2005, the Emergency Medical Center was relocated to its current facility, allowing for significant expansion and enhancement of services. As of 2024, our team comprises 32 physicians, including 4 professors, 3 associate professors, 6 lecturers, 9 assistant professors, and 10 clinical assistants. Critical care specialists work alongside clinical trainees to deliver comprehensive emergency care. The Critical Care Department is organized into three medical teams responsible for both the initial treatment of ambulance-transported patients and the inpatient management of critically ill individuals whose conditions require multidisciplinary expertise. Our teams include not only physicians and nurses, but also clinical trainees and emergency medical technicians.
In our capacity as a designated disaster base hospital, we are entrusted with supporting Kanagawa Prefecture’s coordinated disaster medical response system. Our facility maintains Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) that are fully equipped and ready to deploy to disaster sites as needed. Education is a cornerstone of our mission. We offer a wide range of hospital-based training programs for emergency medical technicians, including pre-graduate education, pre-service orientation, refresher courses, tracheal intubation training (in collaboration with the Department of Anesthesiology), and drug administration instruction. As the core hospital of the Medical Control Council for the Shonan region—serving a population of approximately two million—we have established a dedicated Medical Control Room within the Emergency Medical Center. This facility plays a vital role in improving the quality of pre-hospital emergency care. A medical control physician is on duty at all times to provide real-time guidance, oversight, and clinical advice on procedures such as endotracheal intubation, intravenous access, medication administration, and defibrillation performed by emergency medical technicians.
Main target diseases
In addition to emergency medical specialists, our department has a system in place to respond to medical needs with specialists from each medical department, allowing us to quickly respond to critically ill patients with the following serious conditions who are eligible for Emergency Medical Center.
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Cardiopulmonary arrest
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Loss of consciousness
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Shock
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Multiple trauma
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Severe burns
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Acute poisoning
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Limb amputation
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Cerebrovascular disease
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Ischemic heart disease
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Arrhythmia
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Respiratory failure
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Acute abdomen
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Metabolic disease
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Acute carbon monoxide poisoning
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Gas gangrene, etc.
We have a skin bank and acute poisoning laboratory, and our medical capabilities for severe burns and acute poisoning are outstanding. The acute poisoning laboratory performs quantitative analysis of toxic substances, contributing to poisoning treatment, and is developing new analytical methods to further elucidate the pathogenesis of poisoning. For acute carbon monoxide poisoning, gas gangrene, and decompression sickness, we have a large hyperbaric oxygen therapy device that can accommodate five patients. We have a 24-hour medical system that allows us to provide rapid, constant hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Our facility is used for the treatment of serious illnesses not only within Izu Prefecture, but also in Shizuoka and Saitama prefectures. In particular, we have established an emergency recompression treatment system that utilizes a doctor helicopter to respond to decompression injuries such as decompression sickness that occur in eastern and southern Izu, the diving mecca of the Izu Peninsula. Main medical achievements Between April 2020 and March 2021, we treated a total of 11,249 emergency patients (6,197 by ambulance, 167 by helicopter doctor, 4,855 by primary and secondary outpatient service, and 30 transferred from other hospitals). Of the patients who arrived by ambulance, helicopter doctor, or transferred from other hospitals, 4,893 required hospitalization, making us one of Japan's leading emergency medical centers with leading facilities and medical scale. 1) Number of severe patients by disease (2023) The number of critically ill patients by disease from January to December 2023 is shown below: 285 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, 193 severe acute coronary syndrome, 107 severe aortic disease, 178 severe cerebrovascular disease, 605 severe trauma, 1 digital amputation (amputation of a limb or finger or toe), 46 severe burns, 45 severe acute poisoning, 78 severe gastrointestinal bleeding, 117 severe sepsis, 58 severe abnormal body temperature, 31 special infectious diseases, 172 severe respiratory failure, 154 severe acute heart failure, 58 severe hemorrhagic shock, 58 severe impaired consciousness, 8 severe liver failure, 35 severe acute renal failure, and 304 other critical conditions (cases in which continuous arterial infusion therapy, plasma exchange, or surgery was performed for severe pancreatitis, endocrine crisis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, etc.). The above diseases include severe cases of heat stroke, accidental hypothermia, suffocation, drowning, decompression sickness, etc. 2) Number of patients transported by doctor helicopter by disease (2020) The following table shows the number of patients transported by doctor helicopter in fiscal year 2020 (April to March). Of the 172 total patients transported, 85 were due to external causes such as trauma, and 87 were due to illness. Of the cases due to external causes such as trauma, 59 were due to trauma, 3 to poisoning, 3 to burns, 3 to environmental disorders, and 2 to other external causes, with 15 patients experiencing cardiac arrest. Of the cases due to illness, 14 were due to cranial nervous system disorders, 29 to circulatory system disorders, 4 to respiratory system disorders, 8 to digestive system disorders, 2 to metabolic disorders, 0 to Obstetrics and Gynecology disorders, and 12 to other causes, with 18 patients experiencing cardiac arrest.
Main medical achievements
Between April 2020 and March 2021, we treated a total of 11,249 emergency patients (6,197 by ambulance, 167 by helicopter doctor, 4,855 by primary and secondary outpatient service, and 30 transferred from other hospitals). Of the patients who arrived by ambulance, helicopter doctor, or transferred from other hospitals, 4,893 required hospitalization, making us one of Japan's leading emergency medical centers with leading facilities and medical scale.
1) Number of severe patients by disease (2023)
The number of critically ill patients by disease from January to December 2023 is shown below: 285 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, 193 severe acute coronary syndrome, 107 severe aortic disease, 178 severe cerebrovascular disease, 605 severe trauma, 1 digital amputation (amputation of a limb or finger or toe), 46 severe burns, 45 severe acute poisoning, 78 severe gastrointestinal bleeding, 117 severe sepsis, 58 severe abnormal body temperature, 31 special infectious diseases, 172 severe respiratory failure, 154 severe acute heart failure, 58 severe hemorrhagic shock, 58 severe impaired consciousness, 8 severe liver failure, 35 severe acute renal failure, and 304 other critical conditions (cases in which continuous arterial infusion therapy, plasma exchange, or surgery was performed for severe pancreatitis, endocrine crisis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, etc.). The above diseases include severe cases of heat stroke, accidental hypothermia, suffocation, drowning, decompression sickness, etc.
2) Number of patients transported by doctor helicopter by disease (2020)
The following table shows the number of patients transported by doctor helicopter in fiscal year 2020 (April to March). Of the 172 total patients transported, 85 were due to external causes such as trauma, and 87 were due to illness. Of the cases due to external causes such as trauma, 59 were due to trauma, 3 to poisoning, 3 to burns, 3 to environmental disorders, and 2 to other external causes, with 15 patients experiencing cardiac arrest. Of the cases due to illness, 14 were due to cranial nervous system disorders, 29 to circulatory system disorders, 4 to respiratory system disorders, 8 to digestive system disorders, 2 to metabolic disorders, 0 to Obstetrics and Gynecology disorders, and 12 to other causes, with 18 patients experiencing cardiac arrest.
3) Emergency Medical Center Facilities
○1st floor
* Emergency treatment room, emergency examination booths (6 booths), emergency operating room, staff station, family waiting room, doctor waiting room, ambulance staff waiting room
*CT, MRI, angiography room, plain X-ray room
○2nd floor
*19 beds in the E-ICU (emergency intensive Intensive Care Unit)
*3 burn center beds
*E-HCU (Emergency Care Unit) 36 beds
Doctor List
Director: Seiji Morita
Department Head: Seiji Morita
Chief physician of the after-hours outpatient and emergency resuscitation room: Naoya Miura
EICU Ward Chief: Asuka Tsuchiya
Deputy Chief of EICU Ward: Mari Amino
EHCU Ward Chief: Hiromichi Aoki
Deputy Chief of EHCU Ward: Yumie Honda
Deputy Chief Physician of Ward 8B: Tomoya Nishino
Center: +81463 (93) 1121 (Main)
Professor Seiji Morita (Chief)
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Supervisor and Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma Specialist / Japanese Burn Association Specialist / Japan Surgical Association Certified Doctor |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, severe burns, environmental injuries, IVR, PCPS |
Professor Mari Amino
| Specialization | Critical Care Department, Cardiology |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Certified physician of the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine, specialist of the Japanese Circulation Society, and arrhythmia specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Arrhythmia, radiation therapy |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday |
Associate Professor Kazuo Umezawa
| Specialization | Critical Care Department, infectious diseases |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Emergency Medicine Specialist, Infection Control Doctor, Japanese Society of Acute Medicine |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, severe burns, intensive care, sepsis |
| Outpatient medical day | Monday (PM) |
Associate Professor Takeshi Saito
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | legal addiction |
| Specialized Areas | Acute poisoning, legal poisoning, drug toxicology analysis |
Associate Professor Asuka Tsuchiya
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Supervisor and Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma Specialist / Japanese Burn Association Specialist / Japanese Surgical Society Specialist / Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine Specialist / Certified Instructor of the Japanese Society of Aeromedical Services |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, doctor helicopter |
| Outpatient medical day | Thursday (PM) |
Lecturer: Rie Yamamoto
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Supervisor and Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Society of Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Acute poisoning, emergency medical system |
| Outpatient medical day | Thursday (AM) |
Lecturer: Hiromichi Aoki
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Supervisor and Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Surgical Society Specialist / Japanese Association for the Surgery of Trauma Specialist / Japanese Burn Association Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, Gastroenterological Surgery disease, intensive care |
| Outpatient medical day | Tuesday (AM) |
Instructor: Yumie Honda
| Specialization | Critical Care Department, Neurosurgery |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Specialist of the Japan Neurosurgery Society / Specialist in Emergency Medicine at the Japanese Society for Acute Medicine / Certified Instructor of the Japan Society for Aeromedical Care / Specialist at the Japan Stroke Society |
| Specialized Areas | Head trauma, pediatric neurological disorders |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday, Friday, Saturday |
Lecturer: Naoya Miura
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Supervisor and Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | intensive care |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday (AM) |
Lecturer Nobuo Watanabe
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | basic research |
Assistant Professor Tomoya Nishino
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Emergency Medicine Specialist of the Japanese Society of Acute Medicine/Specialist of the Japanese Society of Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine |
| Specialized Areas | Emergency, initial trauma treatment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| Outpatient medical day | Wednesday (PM) |
Assistant Professor Uehata Atsushi
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Emergency Medicine Specialist of the Japanese Society for Acute Medicine/Specialist of the Japanese Surgical Society |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, intensive care, initial emergency treatment |
| Outpatient medical day | Friday (AM) |
Assistant Professor Kisei Sai
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japanese Society of Acute Medicine Emergency Medicine Specialist / Japanese Surgical Society Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, intensive care, initial emergency treatment |
Assistant Professor Michihiro Takeda
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Japan Surgical Society Specialist |
| Specialized Areas | Severe trauma, intensive care, initial emergency treatment |
Assistant Professor Mayo Okawa
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialist | Emergency Medicine Specialist, Japanese Society of Acute Medicine |
| Specialized Areas | Intensive care, emergency first care |
Assistant Professor Yuri Ikeya
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | Intensive care, emergency first care |
Assistant Professor Kiyohiko Adachi
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | Intensive care, emergency first care |
Assistant Professor Ai Wakano
| Specialization | Critical Care Department |
|---|---|
| Specialized Areas | Intensive care, emergency first care |