Central Taranaki charity funds nurse for Stratford High School students

Stratford High School principal Cameron Stone and Jono Erwood from Team Hope in the nurse practitioner's office at Stratford High School.

A central Taranaki charity is helping eliminate barriers for secondary school students accessing medical care.

Team Hope has funded an on-site nurse practitioner for Stratford High School, working closely with principal Cameron Stone to provide a wrap-around service for the students.

Team Hope committee member Jono Erwood said providing the funding fitted with the ethos of Team Hope, which helps people facing adversity.

“It’s another layer of support for these kids. It helps them avoid that stigma and gives them a medical professional to speak to about issues they may not want to discuss with their parents and caregivers. The cost of living these days is horrendous and as a committee, we wanted to help these students so they can access medical care with no cost.”

The committee gave the school board more than $15,000 for the project.

“This money has been in our coffers from the golf tournament, Christmas Homes for Hope and other fundraising efforts. We will look at continuing this support in future. As a committee, we thought it would be great to fund this for the good of the school kids and wider school community.”

The nurse started at the end of Term 1, and Stratford High principal Cameron Stone said since then, the nurse has helped numerous students.

“In Term 2 alone, 105 students used this service. We regularly update Team Hope on the success of this project and hope that with their support, we can continue this in the future.”

He said the support means students can speak to someone about any medical concerns.

“We can better support our students by having someone on-site who can offer medical care and support at no cost. The nurse practitioners can also refer them to a doctor as well.”

He said having an in-house nurse practitioner meant students could access help and advice easily, without having to miss school.

“Providing this core support to our students at no cost is amazing.”

Stone said he appreciates Team Hope’s support.

“They do amazing things in our community and have helped us provide a wrap-around service for our students.”