DECEMBER 2014

Connect +A COUNTIES MANUKAU HEALTH PUBLICATION

In this issue2014 in reviewMobile surgical bus at MSC

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Christmas at CM HealthChristmas at CM Health

CONNECT+ I PAGE 2

From the CEO

CM Health produces Connect+ three ti mes a year. If you have something to share, or would like to receive a copy of this publicati on, please contact the Communicati ons Team via email, communicati ons@middlemore.co.nz.

thh omething tot shaharere,, or wwououlddl llikike ee too r rececee

Ward 8

Words cannot express our

gratitude, love, respect

and T.L.C gratefully

appreciated. Everyone

involved, Drs, nurses,

catering staff, cleaners,

and others, a very big

thank you to all.

Patient of Ward 8

Module 5Commend you on the

wonderful ladies on the front desk in Module 5 - Hand Thursdays. They are always so friendly and helpful. They even remember you from previous weeks. I'm actually sad I can't see their bubbly, smiley faces more often.Patient of Module 5

MSC PACUVery impressed with the whole experience. Considerate staff, caring at all times. Felt like I was in good hands, furthermore procedures were well explained so that I felt at ease at all times - thank you very much.

Patient of MSC PACU

Patient/whaanau feedbackPatient/whaanau feedback

Welcome to the Christmas editi on of Connect+. It is hard to believe that the festi ve season is upon us, the year has gone by so quickly.

And what a year it has been! We have done so well in so many areas, it is hard to single out special menti ons, but I would like to pay tribute to the clinicians who work in some of the most diffi cult areas, ICU, burns and mental health. All of these areas have faced major challenges this year in terms of the diffi cult cases they have

faced. I salute you all for your professionalism and compassion.

We go from strength-to-strength in achieving the Nati onal Health Targets. We have achieved every target except for immunisati on, where we are only one percentage point below target. Well done team!

Moving towards fi nancially sustainable healthcare has been a challenge which we have championed in New Zealand. Now CM Health is leading the way in Australasia by measuring and adapti ng our environmental footprint. We are now diverti ng 1,670 tonnes of waste from landfi ll each year. This equates to 6,700 elephants by weight!

A new waste segregati on system was trialled at the end of last year, resulti ng in just one theatre being able to divert 100kg of waste each week. It would be wonderful if we all took responsibility in our own areas for reducing our carbon footprint. You can help by turning off the lights when not in use. Turn off your computers at night and please use durable crockery instead of polystyrene cups.

This year we also said goodbye to the Galbraith operati ng theatres aft er 50 years of use. The new 42 bed medical assessment unit was opened in the Harley Gray Building, which has helped to reduce pressure on Emergency Care and to facilitate pati ent fl ow.

I know this year has been challenging and someti mes diffi cult, but I hope you can enter the festi ve season with pride on a year of achievements and be ready for our next big year.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Geraint Marti n

The joy of giving

On 2 December, some of our older pati ents spent ti me making Christmas decorati ons for the Ko Awatea Christmas tree

and helped wrap donated presents for the children of the Kidz First children’s hospital. All of the presents were donated by Ko Awatea staff and will be given to the children on Christmas day.

All the pati ents thoroughly enjoyed the acti viti es and were kindly provided aft ernoon tea by the Wishbone café.

Due to its success the event will conti nue next year.

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David's day . . . As you are tucking into turkey and munching on mince pies, spare a thought for those of us who have the unluckiest birthday of all.

“Oh, you were born on Christmas Day, that’s unusual.”

Er, no. There’s a 1-in-365 chance of it happening.

This misfortune means all Christmas gift s double as birthday presents, there is seldom a cake, no one makes a fuss of you, and worst of all you may have to live with a family legend.

Mine goes that my arrival ruined the wonderful Christmas everyone was having at Nana-Down-the-Road’s house in 1959. (The other one was Nana-in-Tauranga).

This tale would be revisited every year, and was so oft en told that it was a universally accepted truth.

In 1999 my Uncle Eric – a magnifi cent and kindly man – gave me a birthday gift as I hit 40. “Enough,” he said.

“Your mother was in hospital for days with her blood pressure (an affl icti on I would oft en spark throughout my life) before you came along.”

I could not believe I had been made to live with his terrible shame. You know what happened the next year?

My brother regaled everyone with a tale about how my arrival had ruined Christmas at Nana’s.

So if you really are interested in my Christmas ritual, truth is, it involves my humiliati on – and sulking!

The Westmacotts For the past seven years, my wife and I have been privileged to be part of the Auckland City Mission Christmas Day lunch.

There’s a small group of about six like-minded individuals from both ADHB and CM Health, who help organise entertainment for the 3000-3500 people who turn up for their Christmas Lunch. We coordinate with Diane Robertson the CEO/Auckland City Mission and entertain for almost two hours as the

guests arrive and are seated for their lunch.

I'm the MC for the entertainment and my wife Cecilia runs the backstage to ensure the right “acts” are in the right place at the right ti me.

It’s an early start on Christmas Day morning, and we get away just aft er 12 noon. It’s a small price to pay; we feel incredibly honoured and privileged to play such an important role for those less fortunate than us in our community.

Keneti Tovio, Oscar Moors, Alick Williams

David Kemeys, public relati ons offi cer Middlemore Foundati on

Sarah Ellis, Mandy Wrampling and Sophia Manuleli'a-Tufue

Tom Sorenson, Mike McGuinn & Andrew Turner

SChristine Lockhart and Sharon Wood-Stotesbury

D id' dTh W t tt

Tom Sorenson, Mike McGuinn & And

Christmas at CM HealthChristmas at CM Health

Cecilia Westmacott , nurse coordinator, General and Vascular Surgical Team and Andrew Westmacott , anaestheti c technician and professional leader.

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The rubber hits the road for Project SWIFT in 2015 as staff and public engagement on the transformati on of healthcare in Counti es Manukau begins in earnest.

Between 2015 and 2019, 14 separate initi ati ves will be rolled out to make health services more effi cient and accessible and pati ents, whaanau and communiti es bett er able to manage their health and wellness.

The changes include new electronic referral and ordering processes for staff , new systems to allow health teams from the hospital to the community to share informati on, and providing a wider range of health services in the community.

Clinicians and managers from CM Health and primary care gave their ti me over six months to advise on the transformati on and the next step is to develop detailed plans that are also led by the clinicians and managers who know best how the changes will work.

CM Health Chair Dr Lee Mathias says CM Health is embarking on

an unprecedented journey of change.

“We’re incredibly proud to be at the forefront of health-sector

change in New Zealand, confronti ng the challenge of an increasing

populati on and rising demand for services that is common to

health providers all over the world,” says Dr Mathias.

CEO Geraint Marti n says SWIFT builds on CM Health’s already

solid foundati ons of strong fi nancial performance and a focus on

innovati on to put the pati ent at the centre.

“The health sector is realising that care must follow the pati ent

to deliver bett er, sooner and more convenient health services,”

says Mr Marti n. “We need to take the pressure off our acute

hospital services and that means shift ing our focus to care in the

community.

“We’re confi dent that by working closely with our staff and

primary care, the changes will improve the quality of care and lead

to happier staff and pati ents and a more healthy community.”

Project SWIFT gets moving

A 40-tonne, 20-metre long mobile surgical bus will park up at the Manukau SuperClinic and Surgery Centre (MSC) from 15 – 19 December and then again from 19 January – 5 February 2015.

What’s unique about this parti cular bus is that it expands into a fully operati onal theatre on wheels – not a lot diff erent to a normal hospital one.

The reason it’s coming to MSC is to help carry out some minor operati ons, while four theatres are being refurbished and expanded.

“We approached Mobile Health Soluti ons (the bus company) as we wanted to ensure people conti nued to get their operati ons while the constructi on work was being done,” says Catherine Larsen Service Manager Theatres.

“While our other theatres will conti nue to operate as usual, the surgical bus provides a much welcomed helping hand.”

Mobile surgical bus comes to MSC

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Middlemore plastic surgery past, present & future

On 6 November Middlemore Hospital’s heritage was linked to its future. Plasti c surgeons who had previously worked at Middlemore Hospital were invited to view world class faciliti es in the Harley Gray building.

The morning was a fi lled with refl ecti ons of the past followed by an update from current consultants on what we do now and where we are heading in

the future. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all who att ended.

An informati on booklet will be compiled of the event. If you would like to receive a copy please contact Wendy Mckinstry Wendy.McKinstry@middlemore.co.nz.

Project awards celebrationProject Managers are the unsung heroes of virtually every organisati on and oft en new initi ati ves are introduced and implemented across the organisati on with litt le menti on of the hardworking staff that make it all happen. These

unsung heroes were celebrated at a lunchti me awards ceremony on Wednesday 3 December. Presenti ng the awards was Helen Telford, President of the Project Management Insti tute of New Zealand.

COONNNNEECTTTTT I PPPAAP GEE 55

PROJECT MANAGER OF THE YEARJenny Pooley- Perioperati ve Clinical Informati on

System (PCIMS) ProjectPROJECT OF THE YEAR

Feet for Life ProjectEMERGING PROJECT MANAGER OF THE YEAR

Michele Carsons- Discharge Lounge ProjectPROJECT TEAM OF THE YEAR

Improving Access to Contracepti on Project Team

Above: Helen Telford and Jenny Pooley.

Below, The Feet for Life team: Jacqueline Schmidt-Busby, Fakaola Otuafi , Lawrence Kingi, Rowena

Scofi eld, Jubedah Shah and Helen Telford. Absent: Catherine Tracy and Viliami Tutonel.

Above: Michele Carsons and Helen Telford.

Below: Ady Priday, Anna-Maree Harris, and Helen Telford. Absent: Dr Sarah Tout, Dr Yvonne Lake, Catherine Roguski, Maya Bachu, Tanya Wilson, Margaret Abercrombie (Family Planning), Dr Juliet Walker, and Adrienne Laing.

y enenjojoyed by all

A fancy farewell to Galbraith Theatres

Aft er 50 years in which theatre staff performed thousands of operati ons, we bid farewell to the Galbraith Theatres.

Staff celebrated the occasion by wearing clothes from the year they started work at the theatres.

CONNECT+ I PAGE 6

January

February

March

April

May

June

Our year in review

The Neonatal Unit at Middlemore Hospital changed its name to Neonatal Care and moved to Level 1 in the state-of-the-art Harley Gray building.

New Smokefree Quit Bus launched

This innovati ve new service is delivered by skilled advisors who provide free one-to-one advice, informati on and

nicoti ne replacement therapies. So far this year the bus has welcomed 3,600 people who have been encouraged to quit. An amazing achievement for the

Smokefree team.

New Medical Assessment opens in the Harley Grey building

The long awaited new Medical Assessment opens, bringing current areas: AOU (Adult Observati on Unit), Adult Short Stay (monitored pati ents) and Medical Short Stay together on the ground fl oor of the Harley Gray Building.The 42 bed Medical Assessment was designed to reduce demands on EC and improve the fl ow of medical pati ents through the hospital.

Harley Gray building offi cially opens

Former Minister of Health, Tony Ryall offi cially opens our impressive $190 million Harley Grey building at Middlemore Hospital, named aft er eminent orthopaedic surgeon Dr Harley Gray.

Somewhere over the rainbow

Never has the journey through Middlemore Hospital been so amazingly colourful as when the new rainbow was installed following a major upgrade of faciliti es. Along the way there are a variety of fun and playful silhouett es and cultural elements which represent the rich diversity of the communiti es we serve.

The drums beat for Pasifi ka Week With its theme of ‘Yes, We Can’, Pasifi ka Week 2014 proved to be another successful engagement opportunity for Pacifi c Health Development, Middlemore Hospital and the wider Pacifi c community. This popular event is fi rmly set into CM Health Cultural calendar of events. The 2015 theme will look at evidence of best practi ce with Pacifi c from across the region.

Manukau SuperClinic & Surgery Centre volunteers Congratulati ons to the volunteers of the Manukau SuperClinic and Surgery Centre for receiving a runners-

up award in the category “Health Care Provider Service” in the 2014 Minister of Health Volunteers Awards. The group were presented a certi fi cate by the former Minister of Health, Tony Ryall.

As the year comes to a swift end, we take stock of what an amazing year it has been and the terrifi c achievements that have been made by our staff .

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Health Minister visitsHealth Minister, Dr Jonathan

Coleman met staff from diff erent departments and addressed

nati onal media outlets outside the Bio-containment Unit at

Middlemore Hospital.

Project SWIFT is unveiled A strategic relati onship started between CM Health and global technology giant IBM, to transform healthcare in Counti es Manukau. The team spent six months talking to staff from CM Health and primary care to understand the challenges facing each service and developed proposals for a range of initi ati ves to be carried out over the next four years. The Board endorsed 11 strategic initi ati ves across hospital and community health services and three “quick wins” to look at how to make our core systems more robust, provide bett er tools for mobile teams and investi gate wider uptake of shared care plans.

It’s celebrati on ti me at the Diversity Ball 2014Over seven hundred staff turned out in their fi nest frocks and suits for the inaugural Diversity Ball held in what is arguably Auckland’s fi nest locati on, the Langham Ballroom. Following positi ve feedback from staff the team are already planning for the next ball which is expected to take place in August. Details will be released early next year.

A record breaker for Nati onal Health TargetsA historic milestone was reached for the organisati on when every MOH Health Target was fi nally achieved. CEO Geraint Marti n says it’s an outstanding achievement by the Health Board and its public and primary care teams.“I salute all the people who have made such a huge inroad in these important targets, which will be refl ected in great gains in the health of our community.”

The big red Stoptober ball rolls into Middlemore Hospital and MSC

To kick-start a month long series of acti viti es encouraging staff and pati ents to quit smoking, the big red Stoptober ball was rolled through Middlemore hospital and MSC to mark the beginning of Stoptober.

CM Health wins Business Excellence Bronze Award

The award, given by the New Zealand Business Excellence Foundati on is judged on seven criteria: leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, measurement and analysis, processes, workforce and results.

July

August

September

October

November

December

Surgical bus parks up at MSCThe 40-tonne, 20-metre long surgical bus converts into a fully functi oning theatre for minor operati ons.

APAC heads across the Tasman This years APAC headed to Melbourne and proved to be an outstanding success with over 1500 delegates att ending. Run by Ko Awatea the event focused on the themes of value based healthcare, co-design, leadership, high performing organisati ons and transformati onal change. Next year the event will return to New Zealand and will take place at Skycity Conventi on Centre. Topics will include the challenges around identi fying improvement interventi ons, the context in which they are applied, and the methods used to understand how they impact on healthcare.

Bio containment unit opens Middlemore Hospital unveils its very own bio containment unit in the former Neonatal Unit on Level 3 of the Galbraith building. The unit headed by Dr David Holland addresses the growing concern about the Ebola virus and other highly infecti ous diseases that could arrive in New Zealand.

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The volunteer services at CM Health are changing. Leading the transformati on is newly appointed volunteer service manager, Neshanee Naidoo, who has been at the Recruitment centre for almost six years.

“We are committ ed to improving, growing and enhancing the volunteer services at Middlemore Hospital. I see the volunteer services as a vital part of the hospital, contributi ng to pati ent and whaanau centred care” says Neshanee.

While we sti ll need the way fi nder helpers, we will build a team of pati ent-focused volunteers. The service will expand to have volunteers in some of our clinical areas where they read to pati ents, help at meal ti mes or simply be there when our pati ents have no whaanau at visiti ng ti me.

Our talent pipeline of volunteers will be students, reti red health professionals, recovered pati ents sharing their pati ent journey or people from our community who want to be a part of their hospital.

‘We are thrilled that our community can now become involved’ says Dot McKeen, Middlemore Central Manager.

Do you know someone who could be interested in becoming a volunteer? Email Dot McKeen for more informati on:Dot.Mckeen@middlemore.co.nz

The changing face of the

volunteer services

Medication Safety Service'Making it easier to do the right thing.'

The Medicati on Safety Service has offi cially launched at CM Health. Our focus is to design systems to reduce preventable harm to pati ents from medicines and to promote a culture of safety. The core team is composed of physician, nursing and pharmacy staff . This multi disciplinary approach will help promote innovati ve ideas that are practi cal in our day-to-day care of pati ents. Visit the Medicati on Safety Service website on SouthNET. Here you’ll fi nd informati on about our service, including our principles. In additi on, you will fi nd a medicati on safety form where your ideas and suggesti ons for submission are welcome. Work in 2015 will commence with medicati on safety self-assessment for the organisati on and a review of our existi ng prescribing culture, both acti viti es will identi fy gaps for improvement. Another initi ati ve is the nati onal collaborati ve to reduce harm from opioids. Work will conti nue in our other work streams including electronic medicati on reconciliati on and allergies/adverse drug reacti ons.

Medicati on Safety Working Group - Back L to R: Marie Lewis, Chip Gresham, Trevor Lloyd, Jane Farris. Front L to R: Anne Blumgart, Sanjoy Nand, Anne Goddard. Absent: Tony Zheng, Tanya Crompton

Volunteer service manager Neshanee Naidoo.

live at CM Health

Following a major IT system upgrade, all staff have full access to YouTube. The rati onale behind this landmark decision is that it enables staff to access work related videos that will enhance their professional development. The decision follows extensive feedback from clinicians who expressed a clear case to be able to access informati on from the YouTube site.

For those of you who haven’t yet discovered YouTube, the informati on channel is a video-sharing website. The site allows users to upload, view and share videos. Available content includes video clips, TV clips, and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and more importantly, educati onal videos. In fact, the DHB launched its very own YouTube channel ‘Counti es Manukau Health' where we provide regularly updates with topical videos.

Staff are respectf ully reminded that access is exclusively restricted to viewing educati onal videos that are related to their job, and not for viewing dancing puppies or the latest Taylor Swift video!

Use this check list to ensure you are complying with our guidelines:

- It’s a fi rm NO to viewing the latest cuddly animal video that may be trending

- By watching the video does it help me to do my job bett er?

- Videos should be educati onal and not for your infotainment.

Remember access to YouTube will be monitored by Health Alliance to ensure compliance of our social media policy.

At CM Health, we are leading the way in environmental sustainability. We have measured our carbon footprint and have put programmes in place to help reduce our footprint by 20% by 2017.

Recently Middlemore Hospital theatres adopted the environmental sustainable practi ce of recycling waste. As a result almost one tonne of waste, per week, will be recycled.

There are many other acti viti es and initi ati ves being driven by the sustainability programme and many ways that you can help.

You can purchase a “Keep Cup” from www.keepcup.com.au and receive a 20c discount every ti me you use it at work. Why not take a look at the way you travel to work. Could carpooling or public transport be an opti on for you? The summer months are a great ti me to try out new travelling habits. We’ve also installed visitor bike stands outside Kidz First Hospital and the main hospital entrance.

Recycle your plasti c shopping bags or even bett er, just say no. Waiuku company ReMaterialise recycles used shopping bags into new reusable bags. However, there are loads of reusable opti ons out there.

You can now recycle toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and caps, fl oss containers, and the outer packaging! Visit www.terracycle.co.nz for more details. Every piece of waste collects points that can be transferred into cash donati ons to the Middlemore Foundati on.

If you’re looking for ways to help, visit the Environmental Sustainability page on SouthNET.

Environmental sustainability update

Compost your food waste, we have over 20 Hungrybin sites at CM Health

Keep Cups will get you a 20cent discount and reduce waste.

i i l i bib li

Visitors now have somewhere to park their bikes.

E-waste is collected & recycled or disposed of responsibly.

Almost 1 tonne of waste, per week, will now be recycled.

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Smokefree services spearheaded by CM Health are celebrati ng a successful year, with the Quit Bus travelling all over Auckland, the pregnancy incenti ves programme expanding and workplace support set to launch next year.

More than 3,000 people have engaged with the Quit Bus in its fi rst year and the team is looking forward to a busy summer of events, having already established a busy programme of visits to shops, marae, markets and community events all over Counti es Manukau.

The disti ncti ve green and silver buses are seen all over Auckland, with a second bus now launched in the Waitemata district, and the Counti es Manukau bus also covering Auckland DHB areas like Mt Roskill.

The pregnancy incenti ves programme was so successful with its trial in Manurewa that it has now moved to Otara, Papatoetoe and Mangere with the aim of helping mums-to-be quit.

In Manurewa, 211 pregnant women and 47 whaanau engaged with the incenti ves programme, and of those 50 successfully quit smoking for 12 weeks or more, receiving grocery vouchers as an incenti ve to stay smokefree during pregnancy.

Finally, another smokefree project is working with social services and large workplaces to deliver smokefree support to staff and their clients as a further step on the road to Smokefree Aotearoa 2025.

In 2015 the team will formally launch the project and off er tailored support to businesses and organisati ons wanti ng to go smokefree, and refer more people on to smokefree support services.

For more informati on see the Smokefree Counti es Manukau 2025 Facebook page.

CM Health supports StoptoberThe worst thing Geraint Marti n ever did was start smoking. The best thing he ever did was give up says CM Health’s chief executi ve.

“The most important thing we can do in terms of improving our health in Counti es Manukau is getti ng rid of smoking totally,” he says. “I’m glad to have been a non-smoker for more than 20 years now.”

Local resident Christi ne Caspersen agress with Geraint, saying that giving up smoking was the best decision she ever made. Aft er smoking for many years Christi ne made the decision to join Stoptober – a campaign that encourages smokers to give up cigarett es for the month of October. Nearly two months smokefree, Christi ne credits her success to Zyban – a medicati on that helps to reduce cravings, a local stop smoking programme and support from her family to keep her on track.

Stoptober was launched in NZ for the fi rst ti me this year with 5,218 people taking part. In Counti es Manukau the campaign was promoted widely across CM Health and in the community.

Congratulati ons to everyone who undertook the Stoptober challenge. If you require further support or are wanti ng to start your quit journey today call 0800 569 568 for more informati on.

Smokefree support grows

Facceboook p ppagagaga e.e

NNECECT+ T+ I I PA PAGE GE 10100

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Growing great leadersCongratulati ons to the fi rst graduates from the Ko Awatea Leadership Academy!

From October 2013 – October 2014 (2 days per month) 16 keen and moti vated people from across the organisati on took part in an intensive leadership development programme, focused on creati ng a pipeline of highly capable, innovati ve and engaging leaders who have the skills and passion to lead health system transformati on into the future.

For the parti cipants it was a great opportunity to obtain an insight into their own management/leadership style, and learn about the diff erent models, tools and approaches to being an eff ecti ve leader.

“Not only have I learned a lot about myself, I’ve also taken away some great tools and strategies for how I can develop my own role, while helping others to do the same,” says Selema Talagi, security coordinator.

“I also learned the importance of being true to myself, my beliefs and values – no matt er what."

Jessica Pett ersen, HR advisor learned it’s ok to explore new things and to not be afraid to fail.

“The academy encouraged me to try out new things on a small scale, and if something doesn’t work, to think about what you’ve learned, forgive yourself, and get back up again,” says Jessica.

“I’ve also picked up some great tools, which include how to support and coach teams to encourage the best from each other,”

Both Selema and Jessica agree they would recommend the Leadership Academy to others. “It is hard work, but you get to take away so much from it. The learning and possibiliti es are endless,” says Selema.

For further informati on about the Leadership Academy contact Kim Wiseman via email: Kim.Wiseman@middlemore.co.nz

Stay well this summer With summer upon us, here are a few ti ps to help keep you and your family/whaanau well:

• To speak to someone about becoming smokefree, call QUITLINE on 0800 778 778.

• Ease up on the drink. To talk about your drinking, or the drinking of someone you care about, call the Alcohol and Drug Helpline on 0800 787 797.

• Family violence is not OK. Phone 0800 456 450 to ask for help.

• If you or someone you care about is struggling with a low mood, see your family doctor or ring the psychiatric unit, Tiaho Mai, on (09) 270 4742 who can put you onto the right service.

• When handling food, remember to:

Clean (wash hands and utensils in between raw meats, seafood and eggs)

Separate (keep raw meat separate from food that won’t be cooked)

Cook all meat to a high temperature

Chill all foods within 2 hours of cooking

• Be sunsmart - slip, slop, slap and wrap.

• Don’t use petrol, meths or kerosene to get fi res going. If someone gets a burn, cool the burn wound but keep the pati ent warm.

• Always check that there are no kids playing on the driveway before you back your car out.

• When boati ng, wear a life jacket and check the weather forecast before leaving home.

• If your Medical Centre is closed and you need advice, call Healthline anyti me on 0800 611 116.

Where do you want to go next?

Please email communicati ons@middlemore.co.nz if you have any enquiries regarding this publicati on or contributi ons for the next issue.

What is the Middlemore Foundation?

Despite operati ng for 15 years, the Middlemore Foundati on sti ll struggles for recogniti on within the hospital.

Formed as the South Auckland Health Foundati on in 1999, it was tasked to help the Counti es Manukau District Health Board rebuild Middlemore Hospital. The aim was to support new faciliti es, including Kidz First Children's Hospital, a new Intensive Care Unit and a Neonatal Unit.

The focus moves to meet the challenges facing the hospital, but the mission remains: To partner with CM Health to help provide the community with the best care.

The Foundati on raises millions each year, money used to support equipment needed in various departments. Last year it paid for about $3million worth of projects.

The largest grant – $1.6million – went to improved neonatal services. As well as the money spent within the hospital, the Foundati on also obtained funds to upgrade the Multi Agency Centre, Bereavement Care, and for several projects at the Manukau SuperClinic.

Then it backed community projects, obtained countless toiletry packs, provided for thousands of items of clothing, got funds for prescripti ons, and eye and ear testi ng, laid its hands on televisions for the renal faciliti es and AT&R, as well as toys for pati ent use – and the annual Christmas parti es.

Just in case there wasn’t enough to do, the Foundati on ran its second Jammies in June campaign, putti ng thousands of pairs of PJs on children in the hospital and community, while wool programme members made up parcels from the thousands of arti cles knitt ed for babies by volunteers across

the country. Staff even ensured an on-going supply of magazines.

Despite trying to maintain and develop relati onships with businesses, they also found ti me to meet with service groups, check in with the women prisoners who sew for the hospital, visit toymakers, fund the insulati on of homes in south Auckland, and administer an extensive scholarship scheme.

They also all cut short their Christmas break to help run Fun Fest, an annual free community event held at Alexandra Park over four days.

Foundati on member David Kemeys said a work day could involve anything from recycling books and clothing, to meeti ng with senior business executi ves. “One minute you can be delivering pyjamas, and the next you are trying to convince someone to pay for a venti lator or a CT scanner.”

The Foundati on also has an increasing community focus. Executi ve director Pam Tregonning said socio-economic dispariti es meant preventable illnesses were a criti cal issue. “That requires a new approach to healthcare, so we work with Ko Awatea on chances to work diff erently, based on educati on, research and practi ce. Any successful soluti ons can go on to benefi t all New Zealand.”

There are always more requests than funding. Moreover, in 2015 the Foundati on has been asked to raise $1million for a CT scanner for EC and another $1million for an O-Arm for surgeons. Meanwhile there are requests for about another $2million worth of support, and more arriving every week.

To fi nd out more about the Foundati on, or to support its work, visit: www.middlemorefoundati on.org.nz and follow us on facebook!

We hold an annual Xmas party

Meet some of our sewing volunteers

We help run Fun Feast

Our Jammies in June campaingn

We supplied countless toiletry

packs...& 1000s of items of clothing