Dr. Ruth Kivistik is Doctor of the Year 2024, and Dr. Lee Tammemäe was awarded the Väino Tuppits Lifetime Achievement Award

For the 20th time, East Tallinn Central Hospital has selected its employees of the year. Doctor Ruth Kivistik, rehabilitation physician in the Clinic of Medical Rehabilitation, Outpatient Rehabilitation Centre, was awarded the title of Doctor of the Year; and Annika Eamets, nurse-optometrist in the Eye Clinic, Centre of Ophthalmology, was selected Nurse of the Year. The Väino Tuppits Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr Lee Tammemäe.

Dr. Ruth Kivistik, East Tallinn Central Hospital Doctor of the Year 2024, has been working at the East Tallinn Central Hospital since 2002. In addition to rehabilitation, she possesses deeper knowledge of neurophysiology and performs electroneuromyography tests. Ruth Kivistik is a valued instructor, whose empathy and dedication stand out among both patients and colleagues.

‘This is a great acknowledgment, not only for me, but for our entire team’, stressed Dr Kivistik. ‘It is difficult to do anything alone in rehabilitation, everyone has a role to play in this team. I’ve been at this hospital on a per episode basis since my third year of practice, in 1988. I believe that our hospital has a very special aura, starting with its history and ending with the people who work here. My internship and residency took me elsewhere, but none of those places had the same feeling of supporting and helping each other that is found is here. It is my colleagues who make this hospital such a special place’.

Dr. Kivistik pointed out that the field of rehabilitation is an incredibly exciting specialty that is constantly evolving along with all other specialties. ‘Every day is unique. Patients are referred to us by doctors from almost all specialties, and people come to see us with extremely diverse range of problems. It is a real challenge to keep up to date with developments and treatment methods in different specialities, because the amount of information is vast,’ said Dr Kivistik.

 Annika Eamets, who was selected Nurse of the Year, has worked in the Eye Clinic for 12 years; starting as an optometrist and later expanding her competence to the field of nursing. She performs visual acuity testing of patients and various eye examinations in cooperation with ophthalmologists. ‘I try to be conscientious, correct, and helpful in my work as an eye nurse. I am very happy that my dear colleagues have noticed this,’ said Annika Eamets. ‘Our ophthalmologists are highly professional, which is why it is so interesting to work here’.

Every two years, the Dr Väino Tuppits Memorial Foundation awards a scholarship to an outstanding employee of East Tallinn Central Hospital. This year, the Väino Tuppits Lifetime Achievement Award went to Dr Lee Tammemäe, who has worked at the East Tallinn Central Hospital for more than 30 years, 23 of which were as the Head of the Women’s Clinic. Under her leadership, the Soviet-era work organisation of the Women’s Clinic, including obstetrics, was transformed into a modern family- and baby-friendly one, new treatment guidelines and techniques were introduced, and several modern units were established, e.g. the Infertility Treatment Centre, and many others.

Yesterday, 18 October, at a recognition event held at the Cruise Terminal, East Tallinn Central Hospital recognised a total of 72 employees. The 239th anniversary of the East Tallinn Central Hospital was also celebrated at the same event.