The opening of a new $12 million wellness and diagnostic centre is a dream come true for Māori in Hamilton, says one local.
After a six-year journey, Te Kōhao Health opened the centre on Monday, named Taakiri Tuu, with the aim to address longstanding health inequities for Māori.
Local kuia Mate 'Annie' Williams said the centre is a dream realised: "Having a health centre such as this, it was a moemoeā (dream) of our kaumātua … I'm just so thankful to Lady Moxon and the team of Te Kōhao Health to realise this moemoeā of those who are gone."
She said it will empower whānau to manage their health and well-being because the help that they need is "right on our doorstep".
"We don't need to go running to the hospital anymore, we don't need to go ringing up the ambulance, 'come, come, come', we have ours right here."
Mate 'Annie' Williams said the new centre will empower whānau to manage their health and well-being because the help that they need is "right on our doorstep". (Source: Te Karere)
In a statement, Te Kōhao Health said Māori have the poorest health status of any ethnic group in Aotearoa New Zealand, are twice as likely to face discrimination in health, and less likely to be referred for diagnostic tests.
"It is critical that Māori are seen when they need to be seen and diagnosed early, because Māori are more than twice as likely to die from preventable diseases. The five biggest killers of Māori are cardiovascular disease, bowel, lung, breast, and cervical cancers," Lady Tureiti Moxon, managing director of Te Kōhao Health, said.
"We need to be proactive in prevention, and move away from constantly being in crisis mode, which has been the habitual pattern concerning our people for decades."
Whānau Ora and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka commended the efforts of Te Kōhao Health in creating a "whānau-oriented and local-led solution" to help alleviate some of the barriers that confront some of the most "challenged communities".
Mate 'Annie' Williams (right) with Te Karere reporter Marena Mane (left) inspecting the MRI room at the newly opened Taakiri Tuu wellness and diagnostic centre in Hamilton. (Source: Te Karere)
The centre is located in the Hamilton suburb of Enderley. In 2017, it was ranked as one of the highest suburbs for socio-economic deprivation in East Hamilton.
Williams said over the years their community has often taken a lot of stick for being 'that' community where "'it's gotta be in Enderley, it's gotta be in Fairfield where that raru's (problem) coming from', you know?"
"[But] at the end of the day, raru or not, we all got to be looking at our health and our well-being. Raru comes from unwellness and if we can embrace one another, this is the kaupapa here that is set up for us all."
Williams said she spoke to her 16-year-old mokopuna about the how he felt about the new centre.
"He says he doesn't have to go all the way over the other side of town anymore. He can simply get out the door and walk around the corner.
"So his point was: there's no need for his age group to be sick anymore and carry that suffer in silence when the doctor's around the corner."
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII officially opened the new health centre, unveiling the name Taakiri Tuu.
Whānau Ora and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka, the chief executive of Te Aka Whai Ora Riana Manuel, and Te Pāti Māori MPs Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, who was the former chairperson of Te Kōhao Health, also attended the opening ceremony.
Glossary
moemoeā – dream(s)
kaumātua – elders
raru – problem(s), issue(s)
mokopuna – grandchild(ren)
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