Category: nursing

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Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Waikato Midwife of the Year 2024

Source: Waikato District Health Board

Held each year on 5 May, the International Day of the Midwife, celebrates the work and contribution midwives make to newborn and maternal health.

A key part of these celebrations is the announcement of the winner of the annual Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Waikato Midwife of the Year award.

From a talented field of nominees, the 2024 award winner was Nicki Tames, a Registered Midwife in Ward E2 at Waikato Hospital.

Nicki’s nomination described her as a midwife making a real difference who has a passion for providing the best experience for women no matter the reason they are in hospital.

“Nicki really gets to know the women she cares for and provides such a ‘mothering’ experience. She thinks holistically in all her care plans and will always involve whānau.

“Nicki is able to really improve a mother’s experience by simply listening to her concerns and offering ideas that show she had thought about the mother’s mental and physical health and she is always ready to guide and support colleagues in thinking more holistically.”

The criteria for the award is a registered midwife who makes a real difference to the areas they work in. This could be related to improvement in experience and/or safety of women, pregnant people and whānau, it may encompass innovation, improvements to a wider team, or implementing process changes.

Pictured: Nicki Tames on receiving her award

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Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Waikato Nurse of the Year 2024

Source: Waikato District Health Board

The Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Waikato Nurse of the Year Award for 2024 was celebrated at Waikato Hospital last week.

The event coincided with International Nurses Day which had a theme of “Our Nurses, Our Future”, and was an opportunity for nurses to celebrate the success of their peers.

From a strong field of 23 nominees, the recipient of the 2024 Nurse of the Year award was Marion Sanders who works in the Mothercraft service located at the Waterford Birthing Centre.

Marion Sanders, Waikato Nurse of the Year 2024

Marion Sanders, Registered Nurse in Mothercraft played a pivotal role in the planning and execution of two relocations of Mothercraft from its original home of 50 years in 2022.

The positivity, initiative and sheer hard work demonstrated by Marion was described by her peers in her nomination as role modelling what an expert, dedicated nurse should look like.

Her nomination described Marion as an avid advocate for her service and for women and their babies, Marion’s expert nursing knowledge of families and the community which she shares with colleagues and whānau is greatly respected.

Receiving the 2024 award, Marion said she was overwhelmed and humbled given the high standard of nursing demonstrated by the 23 nominees.

The award recognises a nurse who has made a real difference to the area they work in. This difference could be related to improved patient experience and/or patient safety. The improvement could encompass innovation, improvements to team dynamics, patient care or implementing process changes.

Pictured is 2024 Health NZ Waikato Nurse of the Year, Marion Sanders with interim Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Noel Watson

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Nursing class of ’64 revisits Waikato Hospital

Source: Waikato District Health Board

A group from the nursing class of 1964 recently gathered at Waikato Hospital in Hamilton to celebrate their 60th reunion. They were greeted by Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Sue Hayward and toured the hospital to see how things had changed. They left amazed at all the developments.

Class of ’64 find their spot on the history wall.

Retired nurse, Judy Osborne, reminisced about the past Emergency Department, “We had a few cubicles and two plaster rooms with x-ray nearby,” highlighting the stark contrast with the current ED, now equipped with 55 beds and five resuscitation rooms.

The nurses found comfort in seeing the hospital chapel, even though the original one was gone. The stained-glass windows had been transferred from the original and brought back memories, especially for one nurse who was married in the old chapel.

The tour ended at the history timeline on the walls of level 2 Meade Clinical Centre, where the nurses traced their journey. It was a trip down memory lane, filled with shared experiences and milestones.

Sue Hayward said it was great to see the camaraderie of work colleagues from all those years ago when it was common for nurses to train, work and live together onsite at the hospital.

Group photo: (left-right) Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Sue Hayward welcoming class of ’64 nurses Lynette Aish (nee Gardiner), Judy Osborne (nee Udy), Paula Butterworth (nee Houghton), Diane Hishon (nee Hillary)

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Recognition for Te Kūiti nurse making a difference in her community 

Source: Waikato District Health Board

A natural nurse, popular with her peers, easily able to establish a good rapport with patients and whānau is how a Te Kūiti nurse was described at an award ceremony recently.

Enrolled nurse Roberta ‘Bobby-Anna’ Wirepa was awarded the prestigious New Zealand Nurses Organisation’s National Leadership Award at Hamilton’s Te Pukenga Wintec campus in July.

The award came two days after the 49-year-old’s graduation, a culmination of two years study that required a lot of travel and dedication, achieved despite the impact of COVID-19.

Born and raised in Te Kūiti and described as a hearty Maniapoto- King Country person, ‘Bobby-Anna’ built her reputation as a hard and reliable worker on the back of experience in the shearing and hospitality industries including running her own businesses.

A 10-year stint working in Australia led to Bobby-Anna’s first entry into the health sector when she completed a Phlebotomy course in Cairns, leading to full-time employment with Queensland Medical Laboratories as a blood collector.

Among other duties, this role included flying around Queensland to various mine sites and conducting compulsory drug screening of fly-in and fly-out workers.

Returning home to Te Kūiti in 2018, Bobby-Anna found her Australian Pathology certificates weren’t recognised, cutting short her Phlebotomy career. Undeterred, she worked in a casual Health Care Assistant role at Waikato Hospital while undertaking Health Studies and qualifying to undertake nurse training, choosing a Diploma of Enrolled Nursing.

Her skills in pathology allowed Bobby-Anna an opportunity to be seconded to various COVID-19 testing teams around the King Country leading to an offer of post-graduate employment at Te Kūiti Hospital.

Throughout her training at Te Pukenga Wintec, Bobby-Anna was recognised as being a supportive and dedicated student, leading to her receiving the leadership award.

“I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to continue my career at my local hospital and can only thank ‘Whaea Tarn’ (CNM Tania Te Wano) for having faith in me,” said Bobby-Anna.
“It was a real surprise when I was told about the award and initially, I didn’t understand the significance of it all. I now understand I have a real opportunity to offer something to my community.”