Takapau’s health centre wins community health award

Takapau Health Centre representatives with the Community Health Centre Award, from left: Jason Ward, John White, Judith Finlay, Jo Ward, Sonya Churchward, April Smith, Phillip McNally, Makere Nepe Apatu-Thortensen, Roger Maaka and Jo Hepari.

The Takapau Community Health Centre Trust has been awarded the Harcourts Hawke’s Bay Community Health Centre Award 2023 at the recent Hawke’s Bay Primary Care Awards.

The awards evening was held at the Toitoi Arts and Event Centre at the conclusion of the two-day Hawke’s Bay Primary Care Symposium - Hauora Haukū Nui - Life giving dew.

The Primary Care Awards are hosted by Hawke Bay Faculty Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and celebrate those who work in the Hawke’s Bay primary care community – general practice teams, residential care providers, pharmacies, allied health and more.

The Hawke’s Bay Primary Care Awards and Dinner includes social workers, community pharmacists, residential care and kaiawhina.

The award to the Takapau Community Health Centre Trust recognised the voluntary work that past and present trustees, staff and the newly established “re-build committee” have contributed to the health and wellbeing of the Takapau community and surrounding districts over the past 34 years.

Accepting the award on the evening, founding trustee Judith Findlay said, “All of the awards here tonight have been about people who have vision, and that’s what we have at Takapau.

“In 1989 one of the nurses in Takapau said ‘we need to buy the old post office and create a health centre’. Her vision started it all. We had to have two-monthly bring-and-buy sales to pay the power bill and we employed a nurse for 10 hours a week.

“Now we’re open every day and provide daily nurse-led morning clinics, two afternoon clinics, a weekly doctor’s clinic and a bi-monthly wāhine doctor’s clinic. The health centre has almost 3000 registered patients.”

The trust has just embarked on a project to build a new “wellness and community hub” in the township as the current building, which was built in 1911, is no longer fit for purpose.

Judith said, “Our vision now is to get a new building as ours is now too small for all the clinics ... and the roof leaks.

“We’re now on another journey for the next 34 years, so watch this space.”

Judith said, “We are very grateful for the recognition for the work over the past 34 years and are excited about the prospect of having a purpose-built facility for our community to utilise and continue to thrive.”