3.1.2 A COLLABORATION OF MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES
The project of building the Tuberculosis Sanatorium of Southwest Finland was
launched by the Finnish speaking Members of Parliament of the area, and Bernhard
Heikkilä^532 from municipality of Rusko was designated as initiator. Representatives
of the 38 rural municipalities of the area had convened towards the end of 1927 and
appointed a committee to prepare the matter under Heikkilä’s leadership. Three months
later, representatives of as many as 48 municipalities participated in the project and, in
a meeting held on March 5, 1928 they made a decision on founding the Tuberculosis
Sanatorium of Southwest Finland with 150 hospital beds, and on the appointment of a
Building Board to receive and approve the municipalities’ applications for their quotas
of hospital beds.^533 The municipalities established a joint Federation of Municipalities
to gain state funding. Since 1930, after Turku had joined, the association had 52 mem-
bers^534. By the competition stage the number of hospital beds had risen to 184 and
it increased by a further hundred beds when Turku was included in the project. On
completion, the hospital had a total capacity of 286 patients.^535
The Building Board oversaw the building project from 1928 until 1934. The Board
comprised of seven members and a secretary. The Building Board of the Tuberculosis
Sanatorium of Southwest Finland officially convened 49 times in the years 1928–
1934.^536 The first meeting, on March 5, 1928, held immediately after the meeting of
representatives, was attended by all the seven members of the Board and its secretary.
Heikkilä acted as the Board’s Chairman and the other members included two Members
of Parliament, two farmers, a labourer and a primary school teacher.^537 Two of the
MPs represented the Rural League and one the National Coalition Party. All had a
background in farming and two also served as bank managers.^538 After the City of
532 Bernhard Heikkilä (formerly Artig, 1882–1931) was a farmer, lay judge and MP for the National Coalition Party
May 5, 1924–October 20, 1930. Parliament of Finland website.
533 Törrönen 1984, pp. 32–33.
534 The Building Board made a decision regarding a motion to the municipalities’ meeting of representatives to
accept Turku to the project under certain conditions. Building Board February 10, 1930, Section 1. PSA.
535 Markus Sukkinen, Medical Director of Paimio Sanatorium, reported to the State Medical Board that each unit of
the sanatorium would have two four-bed rooms, 19 two-bed rooms and one private room, 47 beds per unit in total.
The number of units was to be six, so the total number of beds in the units would be 282. In addition, the central
unit would have two two-bed rooms for those requiring surgery and 11 beds in the special care unit. The total
number of hospital beds was thus 297. As the beds in the special care unit were not included in the bed count, the
State Medical Board confirmed the number of beds to be 286 and set the daily fee at FIM 20, provided that half
of the beds would be free of charge. Record No. 339. The State Medical Board 1933 Ea:60. NA.
536 Minutes of the Building Board. PSA.
537 Chairman Bernhard Heikkilä from Rusko, Deputy Chairman Paavo Saarinen from Perniö and one of the ordinary
members, Juho Pilppula form Laitila, were also MPs. The other ordinary members were labourer K. Hellberg from
Halikko, primary school teacher Paavo Pyysalo from Vehmaa, farm owner Antti Raita from Naantali Rural Parish
and farm owner Onni Rantasalo from Yläne. Törrönen 1984, p. 33.
538 Paavo Saarinen was a member of the Rural League parliamentary group between 1924 and 1933. Prior to the proj-
ect, he had worked as a farmer and as a bank manager for Kansallis-Osake-Pankki (The National Bank) in Perniö
between 1929 and 1932. Juho Pilppula was also a member of the Rural League parliamentary group between
1927 and 1948, and served as the Chairman of his parliamentary group. Before his parliamentary career, he had
first worked as a farmer and then as a bank manager at Laitilan Säästöpankki (Laitila Savings Bank) from 1926.
Parliament of Finland website.