News & Updates

In partnership with our Tokelauan Community in the Hutt Valley we were invited to delight in the festivities of Te Vaiaho o te Gagana Tokelau at the Te Umiumiga Hall led by the elders 🇹🇰 Our Health Coach, Antonio, led a session on easy and simple chair-based exercises designed to keep our senior community active and mobile. These simple movements can be enjoyed by the whole family to help promote long-term wellness and healthy habits in your daily routine. Fakafetai Lahi! We’re always grateful for the joy and vibrant energy our Tokelau Community brings.

Last weekend, four members of our PHSHV Nursing Team attended the Nurse Practitioner NZ National Conference in Rotorua. With the theme “Advancing Nurse Practitioner Practice for Better Patient Outcomes,” the conference resonated with PHSHV’s commitment to expanding both our nurses' scope of practice and our nurse-led model of care. 🙌🏽 Although New Zealand has over 800 Nurse Practitioners, fewer than 10% are Pacific—with Catherine Tuakalau being the only Pacific NP in the Wellington region. Catherine was joined by Shivashni Narayan, Clinical Lead for Primary Outreach, along with Amanda Matautia and Anoushka Alo, who are progressing on the NP pathway. Key highlights from our team included: • Leadership as a Collective Action: A key insight from Sir Ashley Bloomfield’s keynote • The Vital Role of NPs: Delivering innovative, high-quality community care • Engagement with National Leaders: Connecting with nursing leaders interested in PHSHV’s nurse-led model • Diverse Skillsets: Showcasing the extensive expertise of NPs and sponsors As an organisation, we champion and fully support the role of Nurse Practitioners, recognizing their essential contributions as part of a multidisciplinary team and the level of expertise they bring to healthcare. NPs combine advanced nursing skills with diagnostic and treatment abilities to care for patients with both common and complex conditions.

We were honored to host Dr. Saia Piukala, WHO Western Pacific Regional Director, and the first Pacific person appointed to this prestigious role. Dr. Piukala oversees 37 countries and 1.9 billion people, making his visit truly significant. He was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora. Our General Manager, Candice Apelu Mariner, presented our model of care, focusing on achieving equity for Pacific communities and integrated primary healthcare. Rev. Vaegaau (Au) Liko, our Chairman, addressed and welcomed our guests, setting a warm and respectful tone for the visit. Our dedicated staff warmly welcomed our guests with a traditional Tongan greeting. Dr. Saia and his team introduced themselves, and our staff shared their roles within PHSHV. The presentation led by Candice, Catherine, and Shiv highlighted our culturally sensitive care approach and our integrated services aimed at improving patient outcomes. The visit concluded with an engaging Q&A session, where our staff answered insightful questions from our guests. Thank you to Dr. Saia Piukala, WHO Regional Director, along with officials from the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora joined us! Your engagement made the session enriching.

Wrapping up an enriching 2-week work study tour, our General Manager and Nurse Practitioner have returned thankful and inspired. From exploring Canada's top notch Nurse Practitioner led model of care in primary and hospital settings to delving into Singapore's Polyclinics and integrated primary healthcare innovations, social prescribing, community hospitals, use of low cost tech to self manage and enable health tracking in the homes, automation in clinics, we have been inspired by top-tier programs and digital innovations, leadership, and healthcare teams in both countries. Across the different contexts, each showcases cutting edge innovations and, exceptional leadership that sets them apart. Yet, we've observed universal challenges and pressures on the health systems similar to NZ. The key differentiator? How each country has responded to tackling these challenges and driving the innovations head-on. Our Team would like to thank these exceptional individuals and organisations who have inspired us so much, and shown what exceptional patient care and when partners in care work as one team really looks like, by striving to create the right conditions (skilled workforce, maximising limited resources, data and digital, infrastructure and allies at all levels, leadership and good governance. Canada - CEO of the Nurse Practitioners Association Ontario Dr Michelle Acorn - a mover and shaker that the world is blessed to have , the President of NPAO, Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, Belleville NP Led Clinic, Toronto Central Hospital, Hospital for Sick Kids, Connecting Health NP Led Clinic. The Ontario Minister of Education and MPP who turned up in Belleville to welcome the Team especially. Singapore - Dr Clive Tan - Public Health Physician and expert in Population Health and Primary Integrated care, Chi Ling Director of the Equitech Collective and her Team, National Universities Polyclinics in particular the amazing team at Pioneer Polyclinic, Dr Kheng Hock Lee and the Team at Outram Community Hospital, Singhealth Polyclinics and other amazing colleagues who have shared with the Team the truly inspirational work they’re doing in Singapore. The Team have identified quick wins and things which can be implemented straight away, and other things that will take a bit of time to introduce and shift. But super exciting to adapt the learnings and make our approaches more efficient and of quality.

Pacific Health Hutt Valley celebrates the successful completion of our third Free Support to Employment 4 week program, thanks to our strong partnership with Empower Pacific 🌺 More than 80+ locals are now workforce-ready, have lined up interviews, or have successfully found employment after completing our comprehensive 4-week training program which focused on: 👉🏽 Writing cover letters and CVs 👉🏽 Workplace readiness and interview preparation 👉🏽 Job exploration and Character building 👉🏽 Building relationships with potential employers Our program has made a real difference in the community, equipping participants with essential skills, knowledge, and, importantly, the confidence to approach interviews with ease and professionalism. We’re thrilled to see all participants flourish, gaining independence and financial stability in the workforce.

Pacific Health Service Hutt Valley hosted Te Mana Ola Strategy Hutt Valley Fono in collaboration with the Ministry of Health - Manatū Hauora, Pacific Health Team ✨ Great insights were shared about the progress of Te Mana Ola, New Zealand's first Pacific Health Strategy. These included discussions on the effectiveness of community-led health initiatives and highlighted the importance of culturally responsive healthcare services and the significant strides made in addressing health disparities among Pacific peoples. 🌺 Pacific Health Service Hutt Valley were also able to demonstrate and connect what they do on the ground to the high level strategy, alongside the Pasifika community leaders and key providers.