Representing your profession at the Independence Day Reception

Anniina Takala, the ERC Operator of the Year, will celebrate the Finnish Independence Day at the Presidential Palace. She feels that the invitation honours the whole profession.

Anniina Takala received an unexpected call this autumn, when the HR secretary of the Turku Emergency Response Centre contacted her about a letter with her name on it.

− I remember sitting in the car to open the letter, although I had already guessed what it would contain. The situation seemed unreal. This couldn’t happen in my life, Takala reminisces happily.

Anniina has been trained as a nurse, and she graduated as an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) operator in the spring of 2020. Four years later, Anniina has received tens of thousands of emergency calls. The most memorable calls are related to fateful moments in life: a caller has found a loved one dead or intends to commit suicide. The challenging work has led Annina to invest in wellbeing, and in fact, Anniina has joined the team for wellbeing at work at the Turku Emergency Response Centre and become a defusing and peer support instructor in addition to the ERC work. In the spring of 2024, she was awarded the title of the ERC Operator of the Year.

Shared honour

Getting ready for the reception has included things such as finding the right dress. 

− One rainy day, I walked into a clothes shop with my dog. There we were, completely drenched, when the salesperson came to ask if we needed help. I said that I need a dress for the Independence Day Reception – but I had no idea what kind! 

This year, the theme of the Independence Day Reception is Together. Invitations have been sent especially to people who have contributed to community and gathered people from different backgrounds together.

− Even though it was my name on the invitation, I feel like I’m going there as a representative of the whole profession. It’s great that the job of an ordinary ERC operator is appreciated. 

Working together to help those in need

To Annina, working as an ERC operator means first and foremost meeting and helping those who need help, but cooperation with other authorities is also close to her heart. 

− In addition to meeting those who need help, I want to provide the best possible service for the different sectors. In the same way as I give life-saving instructions as clearly as possible during a telephone call, I want to give the alerted authorities as detailed information as possible about what has happened over the official radio. We all work together, Anniina says.

This is now the third consecutive year when the ERC Operator of the Year has been invited to the Independence Day Reception.