Local services
On behalf of the Municipality of Debrecen, the Clinical Centre, the Faculty of General Medicine and the Department of Dermatology of the University of Debrecen, a memorial tree was planted in memory of Dr. Ágnes Jókayné Dr. Bégány, associate professor and former municipal councillor, born 70 years ago on the 26th of November 2024.
At the memorial service held in front of the Dermatology Clinic, Prof. Dr. Andrea Szegedi, Director of the Clinic, said that in the person of Dr. Ágnes Jókayné Dr. Bégány, they remember a friend and colleague who is forever etched in their hearts and souls, and who has been gone for thirteen years. She was a colleague whose sincere, intelligent, dynamic and very likeable personality will always remain with those who remember her. She was a staff member of the Dermatology Clinic for thirty-two years. Her main fields of activity were melanoma treatment, diagnostics and the care of oncology patients. She was the one who introduced the approach of lifelong care of this disease to the clinic, and her students continue to do so today with complete naturalness. It is thanks to her that the dermatology clinic has an independent pathologist, and Debrecen is still one of the only dermatology clinics in Hungary where independent pathological diagnostics are performed, helping to treat many cancer patients to this day. Ágnes Bégány also did her research in the field of tumours, primarily in the epidemiological and preventive fields, and in this context she established a relationship with the Institute of Preventive Medicine that continues to this day. According to Prof. Dr. Andrea Szegedi, Ágnes Bégány’s teaching work was driven by the same conscientiousness and enthusiasm that characterised her in patient care, and she was much loved by the university students. She was also a very well-known specialist nationally, and for many years she was active on the boards of the Hungarian Dermatological Society and the College of Dermatology. In the early 2000s, she also worked for the then National Health Insurance Fund. She was also a local councillor between 2002 and 2006, and then became an external member of the Health and Social Affairs Committee of the Assembly. Beyond her professional work, what was really close to her heart were family, friends, sport and the arts. She had an opinion on everything and always listened to the opinions of others with an open, intelligent and warm heart. And she always acted quickly and decisively. Prof. Dr. Andrea Szegedi concluded her memorial service by expressing how happy they would be to be able to show Ágnes Bégány how much the professional areas important to her have developed: oncology, diagnostics, therapies, and how much the prospects for patients have improved.
Dr. Diána Széles, Deputy Mayor of Debrecen, recalled the manifestations of Ágnes Bégány’s humanity and kindness, her quality that she never dealt with her own problems, but always considered the interests of others important. She was a person who could create a community, and by using her energies, others could also become community creators. The Deputy Mayor was still a novice politician when she got to know Ágnes Bégány as a local government representative, as the chairwoman of the Health and Social affairs Committee of the General Assembly. As the head of this body, Ágnes Bégány worked to improve the health of Debrecen residents by strengthening disease prevention. She drew the attention of politicians to the need to encourage the city’s citizens to consciously take care of their health. She was the initiator of the organization of the city health day, which was unique in the country at the time and moved thousands of people, the local government support for the operation of the breast milk collection station, and the preparation of the city health plan. According to Dr. Diána Széles, what Ágnes Bégány once started has now become a system: there is a developed health plan in place for the prevention of disease, the city government founded the Debrecen Primary Care and Health Development Institute together with the University of Debrecen, with the help of which every day is a “health day” for the people of Debrecen in the Szent Anna Street health development center, with opportunities for screening, health education, and exercise. The memory of Ágnes Bégány can be well preserved if posterity continues everything she worked for.
Local government representative, Dr. Csaba Papp said that if he had to describe Ágnes Bégány in a few words, he would say: she was caring and ready to act. She was always “on fire” no matter what she talked about, no matter what the topic was. She was a doctor and a politician in one person. As a doctor, she drew politicians’ attention to what was important and what needed to be done in their interest, and as a politician, she supported the work of doctors. Dr. Csaba Papp also said that the importance of the field of public health was drawn to his attention by Ágnes Bégány’s activities, on whose initiative the city health plan was also implemented. Ágnes Bégány also fought for society to teach children to take care of their health, because it is the only treasure that cannot be regained if it is lost.
As part of the commemoration, Anna Vékony, artist of the Csokonai National Theatre, recited Anna T. Szabó’s poem “The Poem”. At the end of the ceremony, the commemorators put the finishing touches on the planting of a birch tree in memory of Dr. Ágnes Jókayné Dr. Bégány, donated by Nyírerdő Zrt., in the park in front of the Dermatology Clinic building.
Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu
