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Health GuideFrom ChibaWiki
Health GuideGetting sick in Japan can be a worrying thing. Fear not! Here are some helpful tips for dealing with health issues in Japan and Chiba.
Emergencies*Call 119* for an ambulance if you have a medical emergency. Say, *kyuukyuu desu*, and give your name, address, and phone number. Make sure you have your address and number written down somewhere just in case! Hospitals/ClinicsFind a HospitalUse the internet Medical Institution Information Service by the Chiba Prefectural Medical Association to find a Hospital or Clinic. The results will also show if the medical facility has staff that speak other languages. http://www.chiba.med.or.jp/contents/shisetsujo-ho-top.html The system can be a little odd at times (strange romanizations, very strict search fields, etc.), but play around with the search fields if you don't get any hits. Also note that not every place that fails to list English-speaking can't handle English, and not every place who lists English can necessarily cope with it every day. When in doubt, call ahead. AppointmentsAppointments are not common practice in Japanese hospitals. Doctors usually see patients on a walk-in basis, so be prepared to wait. VisitsDon't forget to take your health insurance card! If it is your first visit to a hospital, you will be asked to fill out a form with your information. In many places, you will then be given a membership-like card that you can show for subsequent visits. If you need interpretation, ask your supervisor, a bilingual friend or trusted JTE, or your Prefectural Advisor, but note that if they do help you, they will be going out of their way to do so, so please be polite and grateful. Recommended Hospital ListIf anyone has any experiences going to English-friendly or otherwise notable hospitals in Chiba, please help us build this list! Big Hospitals with lots of departments Asahi Chuo Byouin (Asahi City): http://www.hospital.asahi.chiba.jp/ (Japanese) Chiba University Hospital (Chiba City, near Hon-Chiba Stn.): http://www.ho.chiba-u.ac.jp/ (Japanese) Kameda Medical Center (Kamogawa City): http://www.kameda.com/us/center.php (English) St. Luke's International (Tokyo, near Tsukiji): http://www.luke.or.jp/eng/index.html (English)
Terada Clinic (Chiba City) - located above Yodobashi Camera. Has an fluent English-speaking doc.
Popular dentists used by JETs in Chiba1. Dentist Name: Masako Katakura. Location: Isumi office Mon -Thur, 9am - 6pm. [She has another practice somewhere up north Chiba] It's across the street from a Japanese supermarket. You can park in the supermarket car park. Coming from the east, on the 465, take a right onto the 85 in central Isumi (central Kuniyoshi). Drive less than a minute north, and the supermarket is on your right side. See attached maps. Appointments: Call during business hours for an appointment. Her cell phone number is 090.1432.5240. (If she's with a patient, leave a message and she'll call you right back.). Just tell her you heard through the grapevine she’s the dentist to see in Chiba, quite a few JETs over the year have seen her.
Don’t for get your medical insurance card. One of the hygienists will clean your teeth.They don't speak much English, but Katakura-sensei normally over looks this anyways and her English is pretty fluent and like to chat and chat and chat. There is a weird system where you need two appointments, even for just a check up. For example they clean the bottom teeth and a week later will clean the top ones. I was told if you have no history with them they may want to clean your teeth first and wait a few days to see if you gums swell etc… For a check up and clean it’s about 1200en for the first apointment and 400en for the second. Getting a cap put in between a tooth and gum cost 1400en. {Cavities / fillings no idea how much but maybe someone could add this at a later date.} To get around this ask if you can have an appointment back to back. I’m just speculating but it probably has something to do with getting a government subsidy.
InsuranceThanks to national health insurance, the doctor is pretty cheap in Japan. National Health InsuranceAll JETs are required to be covered under Japan's National Health Insurance Policy. The coverage is 70% of medical expenses for treatments. Check-ups and cosmetic surgery are not covered. Make sure you carry your health insurance card with you at all times, because you cannot be treated without it. The cost of the insurance should be deducted automatically from your salary each month. As of Jan. 2009, it is 8.2% of your wage per month (rounded to blocks), where you pay half and your employer pays the other half. See http://www.sia.go.jp/seido/iryo/ryogaku1809/ryogaku01.pdf (Japanese) for a detailed chart if you are interested.
JET Accident InsuranceAll JETs are also covered by the JET Accident Insurance, which covers medical costs if the JET is involved in accidents or illnesses. This can reimburse you after expenses for the remaining up to 30% of expenses (what is not covered by the National Health Insurance) in many cases, minus a 5000 yen deductible. Note that you will need to fill out a claim form, and provide a physician's statement/documentation of medical treatment as well as all receipts from the expenses. See http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/current/insurance/sompo01.html for more details.
Health ExamsIn Japan, employers must give workplace health exams during work hours, which they also pay for, to their employees. Please cooperate with these health exams, even if some of the contents are things you are not used to. (Whee, excessive chest x-rays to detect tuberculosis...) Though if something really doesn't sound right (e.g. drinking radioactive kool-aid so they can take pictures of your stomach), give your [PA] a call and check up on it. Note: The JET GIH says these are supposed to be annual, but my city told me that since I am below a certain age I only get them once every other year. It may depend on the CO.
Sick LeaveSick leave must be granted according to the JET Contract, but the requirements may differ according to the Contracting Organization. Some workplaces may just allow you to call in sick, others may require a hospital visit and a doctor's note, others may only grant sick leave in the case of hospitalization. Misuse and perceived misuse of sick leave make up one of the most common sources of strife between ALTs and their employers in Japan. In the west, people sometimes use sick days in order to take "personal days" and view sick days left over at the end of a year as a wasted resource. This would be unheard of in Japan where people tend to use vacation days even when they are sick, and force themselves to come to work even when they look like they are dying. (Actually, if you do drag yourself to work when you are feeling a bit sick, people will view that as a trait of loyalty and being a good worker and furthermore probably be very lenient, concerned, and forgiving while you are at work.) In any case, JETs are given a very generous amount of regular vacation days - there is no need to supplement them by abusing your sick leave as well. (Imagine if a JET used 20 vacation days and more than 10 sicks days in a year - he'd be out of work on average one working day in eight! Would you accept that behavior from an employee?) In general, if you use sick leave responsibly (in other words, only when you really are too sick to work), you won't have to have arguments about it with your CO.
Counseling/Mental HealthIf you find yourself looking for counseling or just for an ear to listen, there are a number of support options available:
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