New Tikipunga Integrated Family Health Centre

8April, 2013

New Tikipunga Integrated Family Health Centre

Dr Aniva Lawrence and her husband Leroy broke new ground on the weekend opening Te Whareora O Tikipunga, Whangarei’s first integrated family health centre with a Powhiri on Saturday morning. Te Whareora O Tikipunga is a partnership between Lawrence Medical Services Ltd and Ki A Ora Ngati Wai, supported by Manaia PHO.

Driven by a goal to change the face of primary care in Northland one of the key aspects of the family health centre is that it is owned and operated by local Maori.

“Leroy my husband is a physiotherapist of NgaPuhi descent, his father was raised in Pipiwai. My mother was raised in Maromaku”, explains Dr Lawrence. “We have established ourselves in Northland and want to give back to the communities that need it the most which is why we chose Tikipunga”.

Collaboration not just co-location is key to the kaupapa of Te Whareora O Tikipunga and leads the way in how primary care can work across general practice and allied health disciplines.

“We are offering general practice, nursing, physiotherapy and podiatry services on site and are currently negotiating to have a pharmacy also present within the clinic”, Dr Lawrence said.

Another focus is the investment and development of a younger primary care workforce who will use new and innovative models of care.

Chris Farrelly, CEO of Manaia PHO welcomes Te Whareora as its newest member General Practice.

“We have 22 member General Practices in the Whangarei and Kaipara districts, serving 93,000 enrolled people. The demands on these practices and their small workforce are huge and it is great to have another health centre in our community, particularly a health centre that offers a range of services and has a focus on whanau.”

Not new to innovation Dr Lawrence launched the pilot Mobile Devices project TAIOHI CONTXT in August last year.The Mobile Devices Pilot Project was a result of a strategic partnership between the Northland PHO’s, Northland DHB and Vodafone New Zealand.

Issued with Ipad Tablets a key aspect of the project is that health professionals can work together ‘virtually’ rather than travel long distances to attend meetings or training which is significant for rural communities.

ENDS

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