The work of a municipal doctor
Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2025 10:08 am
Joel Henrik Nuutinen (1885–1964), known to the villagers as “Ukko Nuutinen”, was the longest-serving of the municipal doctors in Juva and lived in the doctor’s house the longest with his wife, Hildur Nuutinen, from Åland, whose surname was Ungerth. Hildur Nuutinen was known as an organizer and socially active. She was a born economist, for whom housekeeping and management were everything. Hildur was always busy, a hard worker, always the first to get up and the last to go to bed. She was both a skilled craftswoman and a gardener. In her hands, the empty plot of land was transformed into a flourishing garden with berry bushes and apple trees. Ornamental shrubs such as sambokus (elderberry), dogwoods and sirens also grew there. The garden had grassy areas separated by gravel paths and bordered by flower beds, with garden tables and chairs. The garden also had a vegetable garden, a playhouse and a tennis court. During Nuutinen's time, the house was almost self-sufficient with cows and pigs. In the 1960s, after Nuutinen's time, the yard began to change. The yard buildings were still there, but the newly completed Savonlinna expressway reduced the size of the plot. The yard buildings have since been demolished to make way for an apartment building built on the adjacent plot.
The work of a municipal doctor was extremely hard, demanding and lonely, with on-call work around the clock. The doctor was practically a private entrepreneur who was responsible for both the municipal hospital and home visits. He had to be ready to treat surgical patients, on-call work was continuous, and days off were not necessarily days off, as at that time check-ups were carried out in municipal homes and schools, vaccinations and visits to the maternity clinic were carried out. In Savo, the size of the telegram number database municipal medical districts, the lack of health nurses and poor transport connections hampered nursing work, and municipal doctors did not have enough time for health care work. An attempt was made to remedy this with the Public Health Act, which came into force in 1972. Its purpose was to guarantee citizens equal health services regardless of their place of residence. The Public Health Act and the health centre system abolished the municipal medical system that had been in operation for 90 years, and the old municipal medical positions were converted into health centre positions, making the municipal medical offices unnecessary.
Hilduri was a doctor's residence until the early 1970s, but its use as a reception area had ceased even earlier. A new municipal hospital had been built in Juva in the 1950s, and at the same time a new building for doctors was built, where the municipal medical appointments were concentrated. This building was completed in 1965, and with it Hilduri's function as a doctor's reception area ended. The former reception premises were among the first to be occupied by the youth office, and later also by the tourist board and the community college office.
The work of a municipal doctor was extremely hard, demanding and lonely, with on-call work around the clock. The doctor was practically a private entrepreneur who was responsible for both the municipal hospital and home visits. He had to be ready to treat surgical patients, on-call work was continuous, and days off were not necessarily days off, as at that time check-ups were carried out in municipal homes and schools, vaccinations and visits to the maternity clinic were carried out. In Savo, the size of the telegram number database municipal medical districts, the lack of health nurses and poor transport connections hampered nursing work, and municipal doctors did not have enough time for health care work. An attempt was made to remedy this with the Public Health Act, which came into force in 1972. Its purpose was to guarantee citizens equal health services regardless of their place of residence. The Public Health Act and the health centre system abolished the municipal medical system that had been in operation for 90 years, and the old municipal medical positions were converted into health centre positions, making the municipal medical offices unnecessary.
Hilduri was a doctor's residence until the early 1970s, but its use as a reception area had ceased even earlier. A new municipal hospital had been built in Juva in the 1950s, and at the same time a new building for doctors was built, where the municipal medical appointments were concentrated. This building was completed in 1965, and with it Hilduri's function as a doctor's reception area ended. The former reception premises were among the first to be occupied by the youth office, and later also by the tourist board and the community college office.