The purpose of life is found in helping others

During 1962–63, Sakari Alhopuro was an exchange student in Michigan in the United States. While on that foreign continent, his heroes became Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, whose inaugural address made an impactful impression on young Alhopuro.

‘In his speech, Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.” I feel that this remains a fitting guiding principle for many of us’, says Alhopuro.

This desire to help also affected Alhopuro’s choice of profession. After his year abroad, the young man, who was interested in the natural sciences, decided to apply to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Turku – doctor school, as he calls it.   

The choice proved to be the right one, and during his years of study, Alhopuro also became interested in the field of research. He tells that, already as a child, he wondered why some dogs have a long nose while others have a flat one. What determines skull growth?  

‘I began to research factors that affect skull growth during my studies at the scientific research unit of the Orthopaedic Hospital of the Invalid Foundation. When I had completed my thesis, I wanted to continue with cleft lip and palate research, but I was unable to source enough funding. The narrow focus of my research topic may have been the reason that funding was difficult to get’, Alhopuro explains.

SUPPORT FOR YOUNG RESEARCHERS

‘The University of Turku provided me with a great education for a medical profession. The knowledge I gained there has been put to the test in many situations throughout my life. They have also helped me to manage in very tense situations, such as when the tsunami hit Thailand in 2004’, adds Alhopuro, who was, at the time, in Thailand with his family and remained there to care for victims.

Alhopuro, who received the honorary title of Lääkintöneuvos in Finland, is grateful for the education he has received, and he has established his Foundation for the purpose of paying it forward and safeguarding the future of high-quality education and research. 

‘I would like more people to have access to high-quality education and to ensure that Finland continues to have good doctors. Support for young researchers is important, because they possess the latest knowledge and abundant enthusiasm. Funding is also needed for research in specialised fields that are narrow in scope’, states Alhopuro.

Already before establishing his Foundation, Alhopuro has been involved in developing the operations of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Turku. Alhopuro called for the teaching of, among other areas, economics and management skills to be included in the training of doctors.

‘Medical training didn't include any economic studies, even though an understanding of economics is increasingly necessary for doctors as well. So I presented the idea to establish a professorship in health economics at the University of Turku and, thus, had the opportunity to contribute to the funding of Finland’s first full-time professorship in health economics – and later, the professorship in healthcare operations management in Helsinki.’ 

FROM DOCTOR TO ENTREPRENEUR

Economics and management skills have also been necessary throughout Sakari Alhopuro’s career. He spent nearly 40 years running Pulssi Medical Centre, which employed, at its best, more than 500 professionals.  

‘Since research work wasn’t very profitable at that time, I had to consider other possible types of “indoor” work. So, together with my friend, Kari Aitasalo, we founded a medical centre in Turku’, Alhopuro says to describe the initial stages of Pulssi with a bit of humour.  

Soon, a growing group of fellow students joined in the operations of the medical centre and, gradually, other doctors as well. 

‘In the beginning, Kari and I treated all kinds of patients and all types of ailments. Our job description did narrow, however, once additional specialists joined our centre. In the end, Kari became specialised as an ophthalmologist and eye surgeon and I settled into the role of full-time director.’

Alhopuro explains that, in the beginning, he was uncomfortable assuming the role of director, since he had not received suitable training for that position. 

‘I studied to be a doctor and, at that time, they didn’t include anything about finances or management as part of medical training. So I decided to attend the management training programme (JOKO) offered, at that time, by the Helsinki School of Economics. It was extremely beneficial.’

Alhopuro, who was awarded a national Entrepreneur of the Year recognition in 1991, succeeded in guiding his business through three deep economic depressions and growing it to be one of Finland’s largest privately-owned medical centres and hospitals. 

‘Pulssi employed approximately 250 attending doctors and about 300 other personnel. Pulssi was a success thanks to the contributions of each and every one of its employees’, says Alhopuro.

A successful entrepreneur, Alhopuro is also known as an active advocate of entrepreneurship. In 2015, Alhopuro made a donation to Suomen Yrittäjät (an organisation for entrepreneurs in Finland) that has already been used to fund entrepreneurial training for nearly 10,000 teachers or education students. Funding for the project was inspired by a discussion held with President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö.

‘The President’s primary concern, at that time, was the marginalisation of young men in our country. We surmised that there were many reasons for their marginalisation, one of which is likely that there are not enough jobs for young people.’ 

Alhopuro tells that he has wondered about the reasons why young people rarely consider becoming an entrepreneur. 

‘There are a lot fewer young entrepreneurs in Finland than, for example, in Sweden or the United States. I suspect that the reason for the low interest in entrepreneurship stemmed from the fact that nothing used to be taught about entrepreneurship or its significance to society on any level of education in Finland. Nowadays, the situation is a lot better.’