What I am aiming for in the County election 2025: Services close to home and smooth cooperation between municipalities and welfare organizations

I am a candidate in the regional elections in April 2025. On this page, you can find my election goals briefly explained.

I am a qualified practical nurse and hold a master's degree in political science. Thanks to my educational background, extensive work experience (e.g., as a guide for people with developmental disabilities, and as a development manager in the municipal sector), and my roles in trust positions (e.g., a deputy member of the HUS board, a member of the Espoo social and health board and the basic welfare committee, as well as experience in NGOs in the social and health sector), I have excellent qualifications to contribute to the administration of the wellbeing area, both from a practical perspective and in terms of broad strategic overviews.

Here you can get to know my current and previous trust positions and here you can learn more about me. Among other things, Helsingin Sanomat has published several of my opinion pieces on social and healthcare topics.

I am a professional in society (MSc) and the social and health sector (practical nurse), with extensive experience in the social and healthcare field in both municipal decision-making and NGOs. You can find more about my background under my trust positions.

(1) Functional social and healthcare services

The demand for social and healthcare services is growing faster than their funding. It is important to maintain social and healthcare services at least at their current level, and ideally, they should be further developed. This requires ambitious renewal of services and operational practices.

(2) Services close to home

The key is what kind of services we are talking about. If it’s about complex knee surgeries, they can be done in only one location in Uusimaa. However, frequently needed services like health centers and maternity clinics must be available within a reasonable distance from home.

In Uusimaa, this is possible because the population is growing, and the area is relatively densely populated. However, the situation is quite different depending on whether you look at it from Espoo's Matinkylä or from the tip of Hangoniemi.

The Western Uusimaa wellbeing area must also invest in mobile services. If a village is too small for its own health center, could a health center truck arrive, for example, on Mondays in the S-Market parking lot?

(3) Good cooperation between municipalities and wellbeing areas

The cooperation between the wellbeing area and municipalities is extremely important, as municipalities are also responsible for key tasks related to social and healthcare services, such as schools, youth work, and sports.

The connection between school healthcare and education is particularly significant. I serve as a member of Espoo’s growth and learning board, and I intend to focus on this direction.

There should be no unclear boundaries between municipalities and the wellbeing area where a resident could fall through the cracks or where information could be lost.

(4) Support for organizations

Organizations provide complementary services alongside public services, often funded by Stea and municipalities. Through these services, many people who otherwise wouldn’t receive help can be supported.

In the past, I served as the chairperson of Finnfami Uusimaa for four years. This organization, previously known as Omaiset mielenterveystyön tukena Uusimaa, is a good example of the unique support that organizations can offer.

The public sector takes care of patients, but supporting family members is not within its responsibility—and no one else would arrange this support.

It is important for wellbeing areas to work closely with organizations and support them financially, especially when these organizations offer services that are not available elsewhere.

My writings related to regional elections

• Good cooperation with organizations (4.1.2022)
• Services within a reasonable distance from home (12.1.2022)
• Let’s invest in social services! (16.1.2022)

I am very familiar with Western Uusimaa. These pages feature almost a thousand photo series and numerous writings, many of which are from this area.