Entries from our staff and our funded providers are now open for 2021 Ngā Tohu Angitu: Celebrating Success Awards.
It's time to celebrate our shining stars! Our annual Celebrating Success Awards recognise and celebrate the work you do to improve the health of our community.
As part of Celebrating Success Week, this week we celebrate colleagues who have innovated, collaborated, and gone the extra mile to provide high-quality care for the communities we serve.
As part of this, we would usually hold the Ngā Tohu Angitu: Celebrating Success Awards ceremony, but due to COVID-19, that's not possible this year. Instead, you can watch members of our leadership team virtually 'present' the awards in the below video (captioned), or check out the list of winners below.
We've sent awards and gift packs out so that smaller team-based celebrations can be held, allowing winners to celebrate safely in their bubbles. Look out for photos of celebrations in the coming weeks.
While we are celebrating in a different way than usual this year, we hope you will join us in congratulating all the winners and those who were highly commended. Please also take a moment to reflect on your own successes during this week – your mahi is truly appreciated.
Meet the winners
Clinical Excellence
Winner: Pacific Navigation Service, Tū Ora Compass Health / Find out more
Outstanding Leadership
Winner: Paul Sayers, Cannons Creek Boxing Academy CCBA / Find out more
Highly commended:
- Joanna (Jo) Allen, Child Development Service
- Pacific COVID-19 collaborative team (CCDHB Pacific Unit, Tu Ora Pacific staff)
Excellence in the Workplace
Winner: Aiddie Mae Plimmer, Infection Control Service CCDHB / Find out more
Highly commended: ICU pandemic surge relief training resource team
2DHB Champion of Collaboration and Integration
Winner: COVID Community Response Team, Strategy, Planning & Performance / Find out more
Excellence in Innovation, Improvement and Future Thinking
Winner: Amy McKinney & Kath Hedley, Community ORA / Find out more
Living Our Values
Winner: Maire Ransfield, Te Whare Marie (Specialist Māori Mental Health) / Find out more
Outstanding Contribution by Non-Clinical Staff
Winner: Hine Simpson, Transport Department, Kenepuru Hospital / Find out more
Volunteer of the year
Winner: Siaosi Anamani, Tu Ora Compass Health / Find out more
Highly commended:
- Joan Dodd, Volunteer supporting pregnancy hydrotherapy class
- Wellington Hospitals Foundation ICU Volunteer Team
Outstanding contribution to nursing: Lucy Gunn Award
Winner: Louise Lewis, Clinical Nurse Specialist – Immunisation Tū Ora Compass Health / Find out more
Outstanding contribution to nursing: Ellen Dougherty Award
Winner: Nadine Gray, Faster Cancer Treatment Team, WBCC / Find out more
Highly commended in outstanding contribution to nursing category: Matti Kernaghan, Tane Mahuta
Outstanding contribution to midwifery
Winner: Victoria Roper & Michelle Vincent, CCDHB Maternity / Find out more
Outstanding contribution to Allied Health, Scientific & Technical
Winner: Daniel Seller, Wellington Physiotherapy / Find out more
Highly commended: Lorraine Tetley, ORA Social Work - Paediatrics
Outstanding contribution to the medical profession (joint winner)
Winner: Dr Chris Fawcett, Tu Ora Compass Health / Find out more
Outstanding contribution to the medical profession (joint winner)
Winner:Kate Scott, ORA / Find out more
He Tohu nā te Tumuaki - Chief Executive's Award
Winner: Nadine Gray, Māori cancer nurse coordinator / Find out more
Nomination text
Pacific Navigation Service, Tū Ora Compass Health
The Pacific Navigation Service has a 'for Pacific by Pacific' approach and offers a unique range of support services to Pacific people in the region by working through a Pacific cultural framework.
Our skilled team, comprised from people of Tokelauan, Tuvaluan, Samoan, Cook Islands Maori and Tongan descent, assisted during the first COVID-19 lockdown by delivering prescriptions to Pacific people needing support. Many people were scared to leave home and were not collecting essential medications. Local pharmacists reached out to the team, who were able to get the supplies through to those who needed it most.
The Pacific Navigation Team is also actively involved in aspects of the regional COVID-19 Pacific vaccination strategy, with three vaccinating nurses in the team, and continues to support specific population health events including outreach services at the Newtown Pacific Islands Presbyterian Church.
This event, co-designed with CCDHB and the Pacific community, combined a COVID-19 vaccination with a church service, blessing, music, food and entertainment designed to make the experience more culturally appropriate and welcoming for Pacific people.
This incredible team works tirelessly to help their community achieve better health and wellbeing.
Paul Sayers, Cannons Creek Boxing Academy CCBA (Billy Graham Youth Foundation)
The Academy has a vision for inspiring and empowering young people through boxing. Paul is focused on proving a safe positive space for rangatahi to grow and develop, and is also determined to have the wider community involved, at events such as an annual principal's morning tea.
He has established a night where programme participants bring their own 'VIP' (relative or youth leader) to participate in a class, to show someone important to them what they are achieving.
Paul identified that some of the rangatahi struggle with mental health issues. CCDHB suicide prevention and postvention coordinators are now conducting training for boxing academy staff around having safe conversations with rangatahi and options they have regarding follow-up action.
Paul is conscious of the fact that the majority of the rangatahi are either Māori or Pacific and so has also managed to link in with a youth worker from kaupapa Māori mental health service Te Waka Whaiora to provide support.
His positive and hands-on approach to leadership is well received within the community.
Aiddie Mae Plimmer, Infection Control Service CCDHB
Aiddie provides IPC oversight and support to the inter-agency team involved in the operation of managed isolation and quarantine facilities in the Wellington Region. She provides IPC guidance and advice which help make sure Wellington MIQFs' IPC measures are based on the latest recommendations and guidelines.
In her role as an IPC clinical nurse specialist, Aiddie developed a workplace training programme for management of potential COVID-19 patients in the unique environment of MIFs, which drew on her clinical and IPC expertise. She then used this as the basis of IPC training for MIF staff.
She currently is working with IPC clinical nurse specialists from other regions to develop Standard Operating Procedures and IPC Recommendations for MIQF for the Central Region, some of which are currently operational. She designed and is helping implement training resources on use of N95 among healthcare staff in MIQF.
She worked in partnership with the COVID-19 Vaccination Team and led the IPC Team in the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination in our region's aged residential care sector. She collaborated with facility managers and pharmacists in making sure vaccination clinics met IPC standards, and developed an IPC Site Visit process used in the signoff of 2DHB ARC vaccination sites.
COVID Community Response Team, Strategy, Planning & Performance
The COVID-19 Community Response Team manages our COVID testing, vaccination and Managed Isolation Services. This work had previously been managed by SPP team members. This new team has implemented a vaccination programme, which under alert levels 4 and 3 exceeded delivery expectations.
Our rollout has been an outstanding demonstration of a pro-equity programme, as it ensures our Māori and Pacific communities are supported to lead and that our Disability community had visibility at our COVID testing and vaccination sites.
The collaboration has brought together Primary Healthcare Organisations, General Practice, Māori and Pacific providers, pharmacies and DHB teams, which have all worked in tirelessly to serve our communities.
The team has exceeded its planned delivery of the vaccination programme by 118%, but most importantly has consistently had the lowest equity gap for Māori and Pacific communities among the DHBs.
Amy McKinney & Kath Hedley, Community ORA- early response & telehealth
Occupational therapist Kath and allied health assistant Amy identified some efficiencies to better manage community ORA referrals.
They noticed many referrals were for people whose initial equipment and education needs could be met more quickly through delegation to an assistant. These community patients would need to wait, at times for months, to be seen by an OT or physiotherapist at home. Others' needs were more complex, but could be met via video calling.
Amy and Kath worked together to pilot the use of delegation/direction and facilitated telehealth. Kath completes an initial assessment over the phone and then either delegates to Amy to carry out the required task, or books in a facilitated video call during which the assessment and intervention is carried out. They prioritised this approach for those patients identifying as Māori or Pacific.
This saves time and allows more patients to be seen in a shorter time period, some within a week of their referral. Up to 20 patients per month have been assessed and discharged using delegation, with a further 10 patients/month with more complex needs seen and their treatment completed using video assessment and intervention. Patient feedback has been extremely positive.
Maire Ransfield, Te Whare Marie (Specialist Māori Mental Health)
Maire promotes best practice to ensure that Te Whare Marie is able to provide a cultural aspect of care when working with whaiora motuhake (clients).
Maire promotes and encourages attendance to weekly tikanga sessions at which staff gain insight and knowledge through a Te Ao Māori lens. This includes access to language learning and pepeha development. She celebrated Matariki with our whaiora and stakeholders with activities such as whakairo Māori (carving), kapa haka, sharing the genealogy of Matariki and a kai hākari.
Maire is an active facilitator, educator and promoter of the Maori model frameworks within the service. Her combination of clinical and cultural excellence is displayed in her commitment to deliver a cultural therapeutic tool to strengthen our whaiora while adding to the skillset of our clinical team. Her commitment is aligned with Te Tiriti O Waitangi in promoting equitable health outcomes for Māori.
She is a person who inspires and empowers whānau in practice to uphold and embrace the service values of - Ukaipo (Nurturing & sustenance), whanaungatanga (Integrity, respect & relationships) manaakitanga (Support & empowering), rangatiratanga (Encouragement), tohungatanga (Mentoring & skill sets) and kotahitanga (Aspirational).
Her favourite reminder to us all is 'tēnei te pō, nau mai te ao' – indigenise our spaces.
Hine Simpson, Transport Department, Kenepuru Community Hospital
Hine has a wonderful work ethic which became especially apparent during the period COVID-19 affected our country over the last year.
Hine appears to have a hundred responsibilities. She goes out in the rain to make sure that the cars are working, and makes sure the cars get out, supplied with hand gel and other equipment.
Hine also has many responsibilities all over the building, sorting out signage and equipment, and even makes time for the special garden outside the office.
She is very gracious with her time and energy and does all these things with a smile.
Siaosi Anamani, Tu Ora Compass Health
Siaosi a stalwart of Porirua city's Pacific community, tackling the grim health statistics of aiga within his community.
He has an appetite to help young people and provides programmes on youth mental health, exercise, and wellbeing, coordinating events to support vulnerable young people in Porirua colleges. Three times a week Siaosi facilitates a 7am morning exercise and mentoring session for students. Student participation goes towards attendance and achievement recognition.
His work has extended out to his voluntary work within the Porirua community, in particular 'Walking Samoans.' He led its first walk in 2018, encouraging a crowd of over 70 people aged from 4 years to 70+. He still leads the walks today, as well as coordinating risk plans, planning different walking paths, and growing group numbers, despite his work and family obligations. He has shown leadership and resilience to keep going.
Many positive changes have occurred as a direct result of the time, resource and endless energy he puts in. He takes no credit for members losing weight, overcoming health issues or improving well-being. His willingness to do 'whatever it takes' to see positive outcomes of health and wellbeing is humbling.
Louise Lewis, Clinical Nurse Specialist – Immunisation Tū Ora Compass Health
Louise is a true leader and has dedicated her career to specialising in immunisation as a critical aspect of a good public health. She works tirelessly with people to improve immunisation rates, understand barriers, and actively work on advocating for ways to overcome these barriers.
She is a role model in our organisation and across the sector with her commitment and passion to all things immunisation. She is well-regarded by all her colleagues within Tū Ora, as well as the wider health sector of over 150 organisations and their teams she works with in the CCDHB region. She works to ensure flu vaccination is redistributed across providers to achieve equity for Māori and Pacific.
Louise works hard, is unassuming and does not expect accolades for her work. This award is a brilliant way to acknowledge her contribution to immunisation, and to the people she works with over the decades of her career.
Nadine Gray, Faster Cancer Treatment Team, WBCC
In her year as the inaugural CNS Māori cancer nurse coordinator, Nadine has shown herself to be an approachable, go-to professional.
She works tirelessly towards equitable care for her patients, some of whom may have had no intention to come to hospital, or been unable to, before her involvement.
Her caring and knowledgeable manner is an asset to her and the organisation. She gets to the heart of issues and manages them in a culturally competent way, putting the patient at ease and advocating at each point.
Nadine has completed her Masters qualification, in which she explored using the voice of indigenous nursing students to inform how an equitable and culturally thriving education environment recruits and retains minority students. She has also recently instigated a Quality Improvement project to initiate early identification of Maori cancer patients presenting to the Emergency Department.
Nadine is a fantastic role model who inspires other nurses in the organisation through her humble yet confident approach. She has great mana amongst her colleagues and is an excellent example of Māori leadership making a difference. Her Te Ao Māori world view is evident in her leadership within the Māori and Pacific Nurse and Midwife Leadership group.
Victoria Roper & Michelle Vincent, CCDHB Maternity
Victoria and Michelle work to be responsive to the needs of Māori in the midwifery space.
In this they show exemplary leadership, working towards reducing inequalities as well as imagining and supporting pro-equity initiatives.
The personal cost, effort and emotional labour of this mahi is enormous. However they rise to this challenge each day through the different projects, people and initiatives they support.
The level of support they offer to community Māori & Pacific midwives is huge, and the amount of energy they invest in relationships, connectedness and reciprocity is massive.
A particular skill they share is the ability to curate and facilitate incredible educational initiatives for midwives, such as a half-day training Framing Culturally Responsive Maternity Care, as well as an overnight Noho Marae at Katihiku Marae (Victoria's marae).
Daniel Seller, Wellington Physiotherapy
Working in ICU, Dan's strong clinical skills, focus on evidence-based practice, and enthusiasm are huge assets to the team. At the heart of his passion is ensuring the best care for our patients.
Dan's commitment to clinical excellence has snowballed over the past five years, resulting in long-term projects that have come to fruition this year. He has been the principal investigator in two study projects, focusing respectively on respiratory complication prevalence and the impact of early mobilisation in ICU.
He is a passionate teacher, teaching at ICU RNs Core Intro Study Days, as well as supporting learning needs of physiotherapy team, refining and constructing online and in-person learning packages.
Dan brings an Allied Professions voice to the DHB research governance and ICU Ventilation Groups. He stays abreast of national and international connections, and reviews research so he can translate into practical applications. This combination of firsthand reflection and research enables his team to be forearmed.
Dan's work demonstrates his contribution to the physiotherapy profession, acute care sector and ultimately our community.
Dr Chris Fawcett, Tu Ora Compass Health
Chris Fawcett has been a general practitioner in the Greater Wellington region for over 30 years. Clinically he is based in Hora Te Pai, an iwi-owned, high-needs practice in Kāpiti.
Chris has been both a board member and medical director for Tū Ora over the last ten years. He has provided clinical leadership across multiple programmes of work, including the primary care COVID-19 response, where he initiated a daily livestream with 57 GP practices to keep them informed, updated and reassured during the height of the crisis in March 2020, when primary care was very much on the front line.
Chris was the clinical lead for the Health Care Home programme for five years and supported its design, development, and delivery – he is the key factor in the programme's continued success. He is now the clinical lead for the Kāpiti community Network and has been instrumental in the programme's first year's deliverables.
Chris manages to get the best out of his colleagues and is very popular with his patients, thanks to his well-informed, approachable, and kind manner.
Outstanding contribution to the medical profession (joint winner)
Kate Scott, CCDHB ORA
Kate is a trusted and highly regarded clinical leader and geriatrician. She sparks a contagious interest and passion in those around her about all things relevant to caring for older people. She has a thirst for information and knowledge that inspires others to be curious and enthusiastic in their own work.
Kate has been instrumental in driving the clinical development of the Community Health of Older People initiative, or CHOPI for short. This service works to support better holistic care for our older people in the community by providing our primary care colleagues with access to specialist knowledge and skills.
She has generously shared her knowledge, mentoring other medical staff and nurses to improve their skills and understanding of how to provide excellent, holistic and evidence-based care.
Kate models excellent communication skills with both staff and patients, and demonstrates how to work in an inclusive way in a team that makes all who are contributing to patient care feel valued.
She is one of those doctors who others will speak for what they have learnt from her - not just about patient care but also about how to be a positive and inspiring presence in the world.
Nadine Gray, inaugural CNS Māori cancer nurse coordinator
Fionnagh selected Nadine as winner of the CE's award "because of the way she incorporates her values into every aspect of her care for Māori people on a cancer journey. The way she strives for improvement to the service, making it more accessible to Māori patients, is a wonderful example of Māori leadership making a difference where it matters."
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