Saiseikan Hospital and nurses,済生館と「看護婦」

Saiseikan Hospital and nurses

Nurse training at Saiseikan Hospital began in 1897, when the Japanese Red Cross Society Yamagata Branch established the Nursing Students’ Training School. Physicians from Saiseikan Hospital were appointed as instructors, while practical clinical training was conducted at the hospital. Beginning in 1907, Saiseikan Hospital established a dedicated nursing school for its staff. This institution is regarded as the origin of the currently operating Yamagata Municipal School of Advanced Nursing Saiseikan.
Among the nurses who worked at Saiseikan Hospital was Saito Hatsu, who in 1964 became the first woman in Yamagata Prefecture to receive the Fifth Class Order of the Sacred Treasure, awarded for long and distinguished public service. She served Saiseikan Hospital for 40 years from 1924 to 1964, including 24 years as Head Nurse. She made major contributions to the education of nurses in Yamagata. In addition to teaching at the Saiseikan Nursing Training School and Midwifery Training School, she also lectured at the Yamagata Prefectural Training School for School Nurses and the Yamagata Welfare Vocational School, and later served as the Chair of the Yamagata branch of the Japan Nurses’ Association.