A delegation of medical leaders and administrators from Japan paid a visit to NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island to participate in a meeting of the minds.

"Superstorm Sandy devastated this hospital five years ago and several other hospitals in the metropolitan area," says hospital CEO William Brown.

The Japanese delegation, having dealt with their own natural disasters such as typhoons, wanted to learn more from the hospital's experience with Sandy.

Toshio Gotoh and his colleagues from Nihon Hospital Alliance in Japan saw the emergency department's operating rooms and intensive care unit, learning that a hospital that's well-prepared financially and operationally could mean the difference between life and death.