On a lifelong mission since 1909
For over a hundred years, we have been building health and well-being. Over the years, we have cared for soldiers, brought fathers into delivery rooms, been involved in creating occupational health care, and built a digital health service into an export product.
In a hundred years, the world has changed, but throughout the years, we at Mehiläinen have been guided by one unifying thing – we’re on a lifelong mission.
Mehiläinen as part of Finland's history
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1909
In 1909, the dream of four doctors gave birth to a Finnish-language hospital on Huvilakatu in Helsinki. According to the story, as the doctors were pondering the name of the hospital, a bumblebee flew into the room. This led their thoughts to the Kalevala and its selfless healer, the bee. From that moment on, it was clear that the hospital would bear the name of this symbol.
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1944
At the beginning of the Second World War, the Töölö hospital was converted into a Red Cross military hospital, and throughout the Continuation War, Mehiläinen participated in the war effort. On February 6, 1944, Helsinki was the target of the first major bombing raid, and Mehiläinen suffered its share of the destruction. One of the bombs hit the sidewalk on Runeberginkatu next to the hospital. As the bombs fell, doctors and nurses carried patients to safety in the hospital's bomb shelter. The marks of the impact are still visible today on the cornerstones of the entrance to Mehiläinen in Töölö.
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1970
Childbirths were an important part of Mehiläinen's operations from the very beginning, and in the 1970s, Mehiläinen was a well-known maternity hospital. At Mehiläinen, fathers were the first in Finland to be allowed to attend childbirth, which is why people came from far and wide to give birth there. Many fathers attended appointments with their spouses from the start of the pregnancy, and the same doctors often delivered all the children in the family.
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1990
As late as the 1980s, a doctor's daily life was completely computer-free, and patient information was recorded by hand on cardboard cards that were retrieved daily from the archive. A major step forward was the introduction of dictation, which allowed the doctor to speak the information onto a tape for a word processor to transcribe. The real revolution came in the 1990s with the first electronic patient information systems. Instead of pocket calendars and stacks of paper, information began to be transferred into digital form, which has since completely revolutionized reception work.
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2025
In the 2020s, Mehiläinen is much more than a medical center. We have been a pioneer in developing and implementing several digital services that are available to everyone. At the same time, we have invested in high-quality care. We continue to be involved throughout life, from the first moments of human life to nursing homes, today in 5 different countries. Throughout the years, however, we have always been guided by one simple thing: life. That is why today, the best care is still provided by people who are on a lifelong mission.
Treatment and care for over a hundred years
Our long and unique history is part of Finland's story. In the future, however, we will not only create better health for Finland, but for the whole world.
