Greeting for the Opening of Sanno Clinic Tsutomu Suzuki October 2, 2006

　After nine years in cardiology, just as I was about to go study in the United States, family circumstances led me to transfer to psychiatry. Until then, I had been working in cardiology, a field where every second counts, treating patients with myocardial infarction and arrhythmia on a daily basis. In psychiatry, there are no objective indicators for diagnosis, and it is normal to wait several weeks before being able to judge the effectiveness of medication. I studied psychiatry for three and a half years at Nakamura Kokyo Memorial Hospital in Chiba (thank you, Dr. I), and in 2001 I became the director of a 60-bed psychiatric hospital(Fujita Hospital).

　With the new medical specialty and hospital management, my life became one with no weekends off, but with the guidance of physicians in the local medical association (Sosa Medical Association), I gradually received referrals of many patients. Although I had no interest in psychiatry during my student days, I came to realize that unlike other medical specialties, psychiatry has pathologies and clinical assessments (a term used in psychiatry to mean diagnosis) that cannot be understood from textbooks alone.

　In 2004, when we expanded the hospital's outpatient clinic and private room ward and the hospital's performance was improving, I realized how many mental health issues the patients I had treated as an internist had been struggling with. People who visited the emergency room with chest pain or difficulty breathing but were told their tests showed nothing abnormal; people who were referred to an ENT specialist because something felt stuck in their throat but were found to have no abnormalities; people who experienced stomach pain every morning but were told by gastroscopy that their stomach was perfectly healthy, all these symptoms may indicate psychosomatic disorders or depression, for which a psychiatric approach is effective.

I thought that what I, having trained in both internal medicine and psychiatry, could do was to treat both mind and body simultaneously. In October 2006, I was able to open a clinic on the 25th floor of an office building with 10,000 occupants. I hope to support the health of busy working professionals who tend to postpone going to the hospital, from both physical and mental perspectives.

Career Summary:

1989 (Heisei 1): Graduated from Niigata University School of Medicine
Same year: Joined the Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University Institute of Cardiology
1994 (Heisei 6): Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University Aoyama Hospital
1996 (Heisei 8): Assistant Professor, Department of Cardiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University
1997 (Heisei 9): Nakamura Kokyo Memorial Hospital (Psychiatry)
2001 (Heisei 13): Director, Fujita Hospital, Medical Corporation Shohakukai
2008 (Heisei 20): Director, Sanno Clinic, Medical Corporation Shohakukai
Qualifications:
Doctor of Medicine (M.D., Ph.D.)
Designated Psychiatrist for Mental Health
Board-Certified Psychiatrist and Supervisor, Japanese Society of Psychiatry
Board-Certified Internist, Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
Board-Certified Cardiologist, Japanese Circulation Society
Certified Occupational Physician, Japan Medical Association
Member, Japanese Society of Clinical Dermatology
Board Member, Chiyoda Ward Medical Association

Greeting on Appointment as Director Tsutomu Suzuki January 25, 2008

Since October 2006, I have been operating a clinic offering internal medicine, cardiology, psychiatry, and dermatology at Sanno Park Tower. Until now, I had been primarily based at Fujita Hospital in Sosa City, with the clinic open only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, from now on, I will attend the hospital only on Saturdays and be in charge of the clinic from Monday through Friday. I have been serving as the administrator since January 25, 2008.

Although resistance to visiting a psychiatrist has decreased in recent years, I believe that people still tend to consult internal medicine first when experiencing physical or mental discomfort. By establishing a clinic in the heart of the city that combines internal medicine and psychiatry, I hoped to provide care that addresses symptoms from both physical and mental perspectives.
Our clinic aims to provide:
1) Comprehensive medical care (responding to all initial symptoms)
2) Early detection and prevention of depression
3) Occupational health activities

While medical advances are remarkable today and hospitals equipped with the latest medical equipment are being introduced one after another, there are fewer and fewer local clinics where people can consult about common everyday symptoms such as colds or abdominal pain. I hope to create a clinic where busy individuals can immediately consult when they feel physically or mentally unwell, and where those requiring specialized treatment can be promptly referred to general hospitals. Please feel free to consult with us as you would visit a school health office.