| Category: Success stories

“We have a great opportunity to serve as a practice-oriented test platform.”

Exporting rehabilitation concept

Vetrea Terveys Oy is a company in the social welfare and healthcare industry established in the early 1980s. The company is particularly focused on rehabilitation and housing services for special groups. The housing services are primarily aimed at people with disabilities. The company utilises both artificial intelligence and virtual reality solutions in its practical operations.

– We aim to work with a client-driven approach. We wish to create and develop effective services by making use of the latest R&D competence to promote our clients’ functional capacity, says Jori Reijula, Director of Development at Vetrea Terveys Oy.

Jori Reijula
Access to client interface

Vetrea has been involved in the Kuopio Health activities right from the get go. Reijula sees Kuopio Health as an excellent interface for collaboration in the social and health and rehabilitation sectors.

– We believe that Kuopio provides opportunities for creating new service concepts and initiatives through the network. Kuopio Health is the right place for finding partners and joining networks. For example, the North Savo Rehabilitation Services competence and business network launched in autumn 2020 and led by Vetrea is a perfect addition to be integrated into the Kuopio Health collective. We use the network to bring together those involved in rehabilitation and experts in the region. Kuopio Health is the ideal platform for this kind of collaboration, Reijula explains.

As Vetrea is strongly involved in neurological rehabilitation, it is interested in collaborating with brain research and various related digital solutions. 

Reijula notes that Vetrea offers a good, practice-oriented opportunity to pilot new innovations in the client interface. 

– We have a great opportunity to serve as a practice-oriented test platform. We would like to be part of developing health tech activities in the Kuopio region. Our experience from areas such as quality improvement and development work can benefit other companies, Reijula estimates.

Riikka Pikkarainen
Now is the time to act

Riikka Pikkarainen, Vetrea’s CEO, believes that aspects related to the digitalisation of services and remote rehabilitation as well as various development projects could be where Vetrea will reap benefits in the future. 

– In the area of research and development projects, we are active in piloting new rehabilitation projects, including ones that have national significance. One of these is our “TAKU” project launched in January, which aims to renew neurological rehabilitation by utilising new technology and improving the efficiency of processes. Initiatives like this require a suitable social welfare and health care network and ecosystem in the Kuopio area.

According to Pikkarainen, the process and concept of rehabilitating a person with cerebrovascular disorder are areas that can also be utilised at the international level. 

Pikkarainen hopes that Kuopio Health can now work actively.

– We have taken important steps in developing health technology and remote rehabilitation.  The coronavirus pandemic is a force pushing us forward, and every company must make the most of the situation in their own activities. The market has remote and digital services and is much more receptive than before. Now is the time to take the next steps.

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