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Fresenius Medical Care opened two dialysis centers in the Helsinki hospital district in the Finnish capital in 2019. It is a rare occurrence in the Nordic country’s health care system for a private company to run a center. This is a big step forward for our small Finnish branch. A triumph of teamwork and patience.
For some time, however, it has become apparent that the future is not as rosy as it would at first seem: Finland is the fastest-aging society in Europe. The birth rate is in constant decline, while people are getting ever older – the demographic gap is widening here as it is in many industrialized nations. Yet this development threatens to hit the nation of 5.5 million people in northeast Europe especially hard.
Nearly all services are performed in Finland by government institutions that are concentrated in health centers and clinics. Privately run facilities such as the Fresenius Medical Care centers are very much the exception.
This provides us with a solid foundation for the future – one in which the Finnish health care system will have to be reformed in order to meet its challenges. The two centers are also a showcase in this respect, “As a way of demonstrating just what we can do,” says Stenborg. “We share new information, and train nurses and physicians.” One of the main goals is to help patients take more responsibility for their health. “This is an important issue here in Finland,” acknowledges the nephrologist.
Fresenius Medical Care’s efforts in Finland are intended to show that private health care services do not necessarily have to be more expensive than state-provided ones, and that they can be even better in terms of quality and performance.
The proportion of home dialysis patients in Finland is already at around 30 percent today, and could grow even further in the future, especially if patients are given even better information and advice about their options.
Such a step is presumably not an option for Alén, who prefers coming to the center where she can find support and has the chance for a conversation with the dialysis nurses. Väänänen, Stenborg, and the other specialists at Fresenius Medical Care Finland are keeping a very close eye on developments in their home market. They believe they are well-equipped for the future. And they also know already how they plan to tackle further growth: with teamwork, of course.