KCOM alumnus treats tsunami victims in Japan

Recent KCOM graduate, Makoto Uchiyama, D.O., ’10, is currently volunteering in Kesennuma, a tsunami-damaged fishing town in Japan. He helps coordinate medical response and sees patients in their homes and at shelters housing 920 evacuees.

According to Uchiyama, tsunami survivors remain susceptible to illness. He saw a spike in gastrointestinal infections after a blackout caused by a magnitude-7.4 aftershock. “It shows the vulnerability of the community,” Uchiyama said. “So many people are under such great stress that their immune systems are down.”

In Portland, Dr. Uchiyama, who is doing his residency at Legacy Health System, sees patients at Emanuel and Good Samaritan hospitals. He plans to specialize in critical care, which includes disaster response. So his current stint is valuable experience.

Uchiyama came to Tokyo through the Japan Primary Care Association, a newly consolidated group promoting the fairly radical idea of general medicine in this highly specialized nation. He began March 27 at the organization’s Tokyo office, helping to coordinate disaster response.

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