Turanga Health staff showcase courage, pivot to 'create spaces of solace' in face of challenges in 2023

Turanga Health chief executive Reweti Ropiha says it is a privilege to be involved in meeting the healthcare needs of local whānau. Picture supplied

The 2023 financial year was a year of two halves for Turanga Health where staff had to “make courageous decisions and pivot in real time”.

In his 2022-2023 annual report, chief executive Reweti Ropiha said “the first six months, between July and December 2022, gave us a chance to reignite services that had been impacted by the pandemic and consolidate what we had learned in the vaccination space”.

“We focused our attention on helping whānau and the community get all their respiratory-related illness vaccinations in one place so they could build immunity against viruses and winter ills.

“We took everything we learned about running large-scale mobile public health events and added childhood and hapū māmā vaccines to the care on offer.

“People came in their droves to stay well and soak up the whānau day manaaki space we’ve become known for.”

But that’s when the game changed.

In the second week of February, Cyclone Gabrielle added her fury to an already sodden region.

On Tuesday, February 14, staff who could get to work congregated at Derby Street.

“We had a ‘keep it connected and keep it real’ approach,” Mr Ropiha said.

“Looking back, it’s obvious our mahi was like that of our Covid-19 response. We were able to pivot quickly. We created spaces of solace.

“As soon as we were able, we restarted our whānau vax days, the kaumātua programme and all the other primary health services we are known for.

“During one of our vax days in April, we administered nearly 10 percent of the country’s total Covid booster immunisations in four hours — not bad for a small iwi health organisation in a region battered just weeks before.

“Cyclone Gabrielle wasn’t the last weather event we had to deal with.

“In the second half of this financial year, our region has experienced four declared states of emergency covering 40 days.

“But, as we have done in the past, we manoeuvred our internal systems to cope,” Mr Ropiha said.

“From flu shots to flat whites, Bexsero to bouncy castles, at last count we had offered a wide range of support and hospitality to tens of thousands of whānau at over 60 locations around the rohe.”

Mr Ropiha acknowledged the support and trust of Turanga Health’s directors and the energy and commitment of kaimahi (staff), and expessed his thanks to “our kaiāwhina” during a tumultuous year.

Turanga Health has a workforce of 95 which is growing in skill level and scope of practice.

There is one general practitioner, 19 nurses, 58 kaiāwhina (including 14 Stage 1 kaiāwhina vaccinators and eight Stage 3 kaiāwhina vaccinators), nine  administrators, five managers and four senior managers.