Celebrating the Humanity in Healthcare: The Healthy Society Award

Healthcare is rooted in the science and technology that makes new treatments and solutions possible—and healthcare is also human and personal.

While I was in Tokyo last week, I had the opportunity to see firsthand the deep compassion for humanity and spirit of ingenuity that helps to drive us forward in healthcare. I’d like you to meet two nurses, Eriko Tomita and Junko Takeda.

Eriko uses her training as a nurse to help babies have a healthy start in life at a maternity clinic in the Philippines. While providing care for mothers and their children, she saw that many of the less fortunate community members were desperate for medical attention. Instead of turning them away, she began providing free basic medical care to anyone in need. 

Junko is a nurse who wants everyone to live out their lives with dignity. She established a group home to provide support for elderly patients with dementia and their families in Japan—a growing issue in this country and many others, due to changing demographics and an aging population. She also uses her experience to train other nurses with the goal of improving the quality of dementia care for all.

These are the heroes who bring the humanity to healthcare.

They are just two of the five recipients of this year’s Healthy Society Awards, which were presented last week in Tokyo. Johnson & Johnson developed these awards in 2004, in partnership with the Japanese Nursing Association, as part of Our Credo commitment to putting the needs of patients, doctors and nurses first, above all else. For the past 15 years, we’ve honored individuals who make an impact on people’s health and quality of life through scientific research and education, medical care, public service, volunteer and civic activities.

I have family members who are nurses and see how much of their time and talent they give to patients when they are at their most vulnerable. Serving the healthcare needs of others is a noble purpose, but it is not an easy one. It’s important to celebrate contributions like these that make a difference for our world.

Join me in congratulating the outstanding recipients of this year’s Healthy Society Award.

Educator Division: Etsuko Kita, Chair, Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation. She is a humanitarian who was the first Japanese physician to provide support in areas of conflict overseas, working in the UNICEF office in Afghanistan and the WHO Department of Emergency and Humanitarian Action. Today, she advocates for the development of the nursing profession by training nurses to serve patients in rural areas of Japan.

Volunteer Division: Eriko Tomita, St. Barnabas Maternity Center, NPO NEKKO. She is a nurse and midwife who moved to the Philippines to deliver babies in areas affected by disasters. There, she established a medical clinic that offers care for disadvantaged mothers and babies and provides free, general medical treatment for people in need.

Physician Division: Shinichi Muramatsu, Professor, Neurology, Jichi Medical University; Project Professor, Center for Gene and Cell Therapy, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo. He studies Parkinson’s, ALS, Alzheimer’s and other diseases that affect the aging population. He is developing innovative gene therapies and a comprehensive medical system using artificial intelligence, with the goal of helping people recover functions of the body that are affected by these diseases.

Medical and Nursing Professional Division: Junko Takeda, Chairman, Life Art Co. Ltd; Facility Director, Group Home Fukujyusou. To make sure dementia patients get the care they deserve, she established a group home that provides support for elderly people who suffer from severe dementia and trains other nurses to improve the quality of dementia care.

Pioneer Division: Kumi Kuroda, Laboratory head, Laboratory for Affiliative Social Behavior, RIKEN Center for Brain Science. She is a doctor who is passionate about helping parents and children, and is committed to linking her work in neurology to society. Through her groundbreaking research, she identified the organization of nerves associated with the process where babies stop crying when they are held while walking.