Order of Merit for two Leipzig University physicians

Prof. Josten and Prof. Kiess received the medal from Michael Kretschmer, Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, on Tuesday, 5 September. The two doctors were honoured with Saxony's highest state award for their outstanding services to the well-being of their patients and the health of the population.

Clinic manager and trauma surgeon

Prof. Christoph Josten has been using his knowledge and skills for many years at Leipzig University Hospital to provide optimal care for sick and injured people and to further develop medicine through research and teaching. From 1997 to 2014, he headed the Clinic and Polyclinic for Trauma Surgery at the UKL, then the newly created Clinic for Orthopaedics, Trauma and Plastic Surgery until 2019, and in this role, as well as in his role as President of the German Society for Trauma Surgery and the German Spine Society, he shaped generations of trauma surgeons. From April 2018 to October 2019, Prof Christoph Josten was Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University. In 2019, he was appointed Medical Director of Leipzig University Hospital and has since assumed responsibility for over 6,000 employees and the care of 400,000 patients every year. In this role, the 69-year-old not only successfully led the UKL through the years of the coronavirus pandemic, but also coordinated the collaboration between the 18 hospitals in the North Saxony hospital cluster during this time.

For this contribution to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for his work as a board member, clinic director, scientist, university lecturer and trauma surgeon, he received the highest honour in his adopted home of Saxony.

"I am overwhelmed and surprised by this great honour," says Prof. Christoph Josten. "For me as a doctor, it was and is a matter of course to take responsibility for people's health, whether in the operating theatre, as clinic manager or cluster coordinator, and to give my best every day at all times. I am delighted that this commitment and the associated results of my work are now being recognised in this way."

The paediatrician Prof. Wieland Kiess has headed the Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Leipzig University Hospital since 1998. During his 25 years in Leipzig, the 65-year-old has initiated and led a number of initiatives for the well-being of children and adolescents, including the Life Child Cohort Study launched in 2011 and the Child Protection Group and Child Protection Outpatient Clinic established at the UKL in 1999. Thanks to his personal commitment, these gave rise to Germany's first "Childhood House", which opened at the UKL in 2018 and provides care for children and adolescents who have experienced violence or abuse. Prof Kiess also served as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University from 2002 to 2005 and was President of the German Diabetes Society between 2003 and 2005. He is tirelessly committed to good care for his young patients, the training of future paediatricians and research into paediatric diseases. He is committed to fighting for the interests of the youngest children and their consideration both in the healthcare system and in society.

"I hope that this award is also a sign that children and their needs are more strongly recognised and taken into account in our country," says Prof. Kiess. "Against this backdrop, I am very pleased about this and feel honoured as a Swabian to have contributed to the well-being of my adopted home of Saxony."

Press release from "Universität Leipzig" dated 5 September 2023