Karen Vercoe, left, with Andrew Slater, Tia Ashby (Ngapuhi), and Waylyn Tahuri-Whaipakanga (Heretaunga).Photo / Supplied
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See below for English translation
Tērā tētehi hononga nui kātahi anō nei kia oti e whakakotahi ai ngā whare hauora Māori me ngā iwi o Te Arawa whaihoki a Te Arawa Lakes Trust.
E matapopore nei te ngākau nā tēnei whakaaro matua e piki ai te hauora o te iwi kia noho taurite ai ia ki iwi kē atu o Aotearoa. Ko Taki o Autahi tāku e kōrero nei. Tērā anō hoki ētehi pahi nō rohe kē atu kua whai wāhi mai ki tēnei huinga nui.
Ko Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi tētehi, ko Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga me Whakarongorau Aotearoa // New Zealand Telehealth Services. I whakamanangia tēnei kaupapa i Waitangi i te ūpoko o tēnei marama.
Hai tā te Tumuwhakarae o Te Arawa Lakes Trust a Karen Vercoe, kāore he painga kē atu i tēnei kaupapa e piki ai te hauora me te oranga tonutanga o tātou te Māori.
'He kaupapa anō tēnei hei tāpiri atu ki tā tātou ake kaupapa nā mātou tonu i whakarewa e pūare ai ngā whatitoka ki te hunga māuiui – ko te aka kōrero māuiui korona tētehi o ā mātou kaupapa hou i Rotorua tonu nei. Nā ēnei kaupapa kua tu he kotahi rau mā ono tūranga mahi mā te iwi. Mātua mō te hunga i hinga a mahi nei i te putanga mai o te māuiui korona.
'Nō te whakarewatanga ake o tā mātou kaupapa Waea Mai i te Akuwhata o te tau tawhito, ( I mua tonu i te putanga o te māuiui kōwheori),kua oti kē i ā mātou poumahi te whakautu i ngā waeatanga 275, 852, he tuku awhina, he tuku mōhiohio i taua wā taumaha. Wheoi anō, ko te mea nui hoki e mahi tonu ana ngā poumahi me te iwi ki te kauawhiwhi me te manaaki i te iwi, Māori ki te Māori, tangata ki te tangata – kia mau i a mātou ki ngā whakapono o tātou te Māori, kia whakapono mai te tangata ki a mātou poumahi', koia hai tā Karen.
'He kaupapa nā te Māori tonu i waihanga, e ora ai te Māori, me te mea hoki kai te piki te kaha o te whakapono mai ki tā mātou kaupapa. E kaha ai te iwi, e ora ai ngā momo tangata katoa me te hāpori hoki.
Ko te pikinga o te hauora o ngā poumahi me te tuku o taua wairua ora ki te hāpori kai te kaha kitea tonutia'. E ai hoki ki a Karen, ko te mana o Waea Mai, he pūtea ki reira e ora ai te tangata, he mahi tāwariwari hoki tēnei, e mea nei ahau, kāore e tūturungia ana ngā herenga tangata ki te mahi, kai a rātou ngā poumahi te mana ki te whakatakoto rautaki e hāngai tahi ana ki ngā tamariki ki ngā mokopuna me ngā kaupapa kē atu o te whānau.
Ā, e ai ki a Andrew Slater, te Tumuwhakarae mō Whakarongorau Aotearoa // New Zealand Telehealth Services, e whai tikanga ana tā rātou kamupene ki Te Taki o Autahi. Kai roto i a rātou te rerenga kōrero e mea nei, 'e whakawhiwhi ana ki te katoa i Aoteararoa te huarahi kia ora'.
Wheoi anō hoki tāna, ' E whakapiritahi tata ana mātou ki ēra atu pahi o tēnei huinga kia toro atu ai mātou ki ngā wāhi rawakore o Aotearoa, e mea hoki nei ahau,nā tēnei tūmomo mahi e whakahuri ai te wairua me ngā whakaaro o te tangata.
'Ko te whakakitenga nui e mea nei, kia noho taurite katoa ai ngā pukenga, ngā rauemi me ētehi atu kame nui, e tohangia tikangia ki ngā whatinga katoa o te hāpori kātahi nā ka tika te oranga o te hāpori.
Ka nui hokite whakamihi ki ngā taratī e toru nei e whakapono mai ki a mātou. Nā ko tā mātou, kia ū tonu ki te ara o te tika ki a kaha katoa tātou i te ara tātaramoa nei'. Hai tā Slater.
E tū mataaho nei a Taki o Autahi i runga i ngā pou o ngā kamupene e whā nei. Nō te timatatanga o te tau kua pahemo kua whakatūwherangia e toru rau ngā tūnga mahi, e whakapiki ake ai te oranga o tātou te Māori. Ka rua, kua tukuna hoki te kotahi tekau mā rima miriona tāra ki ngā pūkoro pūtea ā rohe kia mana hoki ai rātou.
Kāti hā, mō te kotahi tekau mā rua o ngā marama kua hipa tae noa ki te marama o Hurae te toru tekau mā tahi o tēnei tau tonu, nā te kaha o ā mātou poumahi ki te nanao atu ki ngā whāmere o te hāpori kāpuia katoatia ngā kamupene e wha nei, ko te mutunga mai, he wha tekau mā ono mano whakapānga i oti i a mātou, whaihoki he 274,000 karanga-ā-waho ki ngā tangata whaiora me te hunga pātai huhua me te hunga wehi ki te pūwero māuiui korona, ka oti, nā tēnei pukumahi me tēnei aroha-nui ka piki ngā tūnga tāpui rerongoā āraimate ki te takiwā o te rima tekau mā toru paihēneti.
Nā reira e piki haere kaha nei te oranga o te hāpori o te takiwā waiariki, me i kore tēnei huinga kāmehameha kua mate noa atu a Te Arawa me te hāpori o ngā waiariki ki te waro wawara o Te Kūwatawata.
— Na Raimona Inia tenei purongo i whakamaoritia.
A landmark partnership between iwi and Māori health providers – including Te Arawa Lakes Trust – is another step forward in designing and delivering equitable health outcomes for Te Arawa whānau.
Called Taki O Autahi, the partnership involves Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Whakarongorau Aotearoa // New Zealand Telehealth Services.
It was officially signed in a ceremony at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds this month.
Te Arawa Lakes Trust CEO, Karen Vercoe, says the partnership is another significant step forward in achieving better outcomes for whānau.
"This builds on our initial mahi to deliver healthline services – including the COVID line – from Rotorua. Our local centre has created 106 jobs – many for whānau who had lost employment during New Zealand's COVID response.
"Since our Waea Mai call centre went live in August last year (immediately before the Delta lockdown), our kaimahi have received and made more than 275,852 calls with whānau to provide COVID information and vaccination support.
"Most importantly, our team – alongside the other iwi involved – have provided a friendly, familiar and reassuring Māori voice in the COVID response, a critical component in ensuring a level of comfort for whānau when they most need it," says Karen.
"This is a by Māori for Māori initiative, and it's proven to be a huge success for everyone involved, including our local community. The improvement in the hauora of our kaimahi and the effect it has on whānau and the wider community cannot be underestimated."
Karen says Waea Mai offers at least a living wage and a flexible work environment, which means kaimahi can plan for the future and fit their mahi around tamariki, mokopuna and other whānau commitments.
Whakarongorau Aotearoa // New Zealand Telehealth Services CEO Andrew Slater says Taki O Autahi is of fundamental importance to the organisation's remit e whakawhiwhi ana ki te katoa I Aoteararoa te huarahi kia ora to give everyone in Aotearoa the opportunity for wellness.
"We have been on a journey with Te Hau Ora O Ngāpuhi, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga and Te Arawa Lakes Trust to reach some of Aotearoa's most underserved communities. I can only describe this work as transformative.
"It has shown that when our respective skills and resources are truly, equitably and fairly shared, the health and wellbeing of individuals and whole communities benefit.
"To have the trust of these three iwi and Māori-led organisations is a privilege and we will continue to strive to earn it," says Mr Slater.
Taki-o-Autahi builds on the success of the relationships established by the four organisations over 2021 which has seen the creation of 300 jobs, improved health outcomes for Māori and an injection of more than $15 Million into underserved regional economies.
Importantly, for the 12 months ending July 31, 2022, the connection with Māori through dedicated service lines saw kaimahi Māori from the four organisations answer 46,000 contacts and make 274,000 outbound calls to tangata whaiora who had questions or vaccine hesitancy, which resulted in vaccine bookings 53 per cent of the time.
The inauguration of the joint venture, using the Limited Partner Act, acknowledges the full and equal partnership between the four organisations in their common vision of improving health outcomes for priority populations.
A woman, 25, has been charged with assault.