AUGUST 2009

4

Choosing a Healthier Future

Over 18 months he lost close to 82kgs and downsized from an 8XL to an L and dropped almost 70cm around his waist. His greatest achievement though is that he has dramatically changed his diabetic status.

The turning point was a combination of factors, Ian says. “Health reasons, with a small touch of vanity. I’m almost 42 years old, and when I was approaching my forties and sitting at over 180kg, I knew I truly needed to take control of this before

my fifties. A combination of that and working in Maaori Health motivated my decisions. I mean we have current health statistics at our fingertips and overall Maaori health doesn’t look that pretty. We’re at high risk for diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, gout and the list goes on. As a health professional and being engaged in a journey to reshape and change the overall climate for Maaori health, it seemed imperative that I recognise the personal changes I needed to make.”

Ian is continuing his journey, although he has achieved phenomenal success, he feels he is still achieving. “By no means is my journey over. Realising that I needed to do something about my health, my image and my overall well-being has haunted me for most of my life. It’s really quite difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when the internal shift occurred. But I do realise that the desire to do something had been building over the last four years.”

While Ian’s success took great personal effort, he is quick to praise those who support him. “At the end of the day if success is the measure, then it is not mine alone. My partner, my whaanau, friends and colleagues have all contributed to my success.”

After years of struggling with his weight and accompanying health problems, Ian decided on a course of action. “Honestly, all of this came together when I requested that my GP refer me to the Bariatric Surgery Research Programme here in Manukau. When you’ve battled with obesity all your life and truly believe that change is only a fantasy, exploring every option, even those that seem extreme is a reality. By no means was my decision to pursue surgery taken lightly. And fortunately for me the developments in this field both medically and psycho-socially continue to advance and recognise the seriousness of this condition. Particularly the unique health needs for Maaori and Pacific Island communities.”

Ian knew that surgery itself presented a challenge and committed to getting himself in the best shape possible. “In preparation for my surgery (which I had in January this year), I spent at least 8 months changing my diet, going to the gym and more importantly, altering the way I thought about food, exercise and health in general. Ultimately the surgery focussed me psychologically, physically and even spiritually in a way nothing else ever had. I managed to lose almost 40kg before my surgery and the rest since.”

There have been significant changes for Ian since surgery and he offered some words of wisdom to those seeking to follow a similar path. “Achieving this level of weight loss and health gain is not a destination. It is a journey. Part of it is taking control and the rest of the journey is maintaining that control. Become increasingly conscious of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Engage those in your life on your journey and surround yourself with allies rather than saboteurs. Finally be kind to yourself and those who love you especially when it’s tough.”

Ian Kaihe, Tikanga, In Practice Facilitator, Te Kaahui Ora, Maaori Health Services, knew more than most about the current health statistics for Maaori. Rather than become one of those statistics, he started on an inspirational journey.

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Hello All,

It feels like spring is just around the corner and hopefully you will all be able to catch your breaths after an action-packed winter season. It was great to see how professionally

you all coped with H1N1 combined with the demands of seasonal influenza.

It seems we have another challenge coming up with the beginning of a measles epidemic; hopefully reminders about immunisation have been successful and we won’t see too much pressure put on our services.

The transition of Diagnostic Medlabs Ltd to Labtests was completed at midnight on Monday 10th August with ADHB following on Monday 24th August and Waitemata on Monday 7th September. Labtests has worked very hard to ensure all stakeholders have been kept well informed which has given us confidence in their service going forward. Initial reports show a few hiccups, as can be expected, but overall, our transition appears to be running reasonably smoothly.

You may have noticed media coverage of the Horn Report. The changes recommended in the report are there to ensure DHBs are as fiscally efficient as possible and to endeavour to inject more of funding that is, and will continue to be limited, into front line services. We will be looking at the report closely over the next period and I will keep you informed of recommendations that require adopting. Having said this, CMDHB is performing well both fiscally and in terms of the targets set for us.

Significant progress is being made to achieve our goal of ‘all patients are transferred or discharged from EC within 6 hours unless clinically indicated’. In the period 13-23 July, we performed consistently between 85% and 95%, with patient volumes ranging from 214 to 289. This performance, (against a target of 95%) when coupled with a reduction in the number of patients cared for in the corridors and length of time spent in the corridor, is a significant improvement over the previous month. I congratulate all staff for the effort which has produced this result.

Another particularly pleasing outcome is our elective performance, where we not only exceeded our contract, but in fact exceeded

the additional Ministry elective contract negotiated in June, with a stunning performance from the Provider Arm, particularly when one considers the level of electives and the waiting list of only two to three years ago.

I am very proud of the commitment and enthusiasm of all staff members, and it is particularly nice to see in this issue some of you recognised for achievements in the “outside world”.

Warm regards,Geraint MartinChief Executive

This year Wellington hosted the annual scientific meeting of the Australasian and New Zealand Cardiac Society (CSANZ) and satellite meetings of the Heart Failure Nurses Association and the Cardiac Rehabilitation Association (CRANZ). These important meetings are a chance to discuss what is new in the field of cardiology and for innovative ideas to be shared and discussed.

Counties Manukau sent a small multidisciplinary team of very active researchers and investigators to share a small part of the cardiology research currently being undertaken in Counties. They left with many of the conference prizes and generated a lot of debate and discussion in this international forum.

The main authors of the studies are included alongside, but each paper had a number of co-authors whose contributions were invaluable. Well done to the cardiology department and keep up the great work.

Contact Andy McLachlan for more information azmclachlan@middlemore.co.nz

Cardiology Team - Representing CMDHB in Wellington

Due to popular demand we are running another series of

workshops on Ageing and Spirituality on Monday 12th and 19th Oct 2009 at St. John’s Theological College,

Meadowbank. To register, please contact Dr. Chris Perkins,

chrisp@selwyncare.org.nz or download registration forms from

www.selwyncare.org.nz/scas

Ageing & Spirituality Workshops

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Dr Mayanna Lund / June Poole RN The New Zealand Heart Failure Guidelines, 2009 Invited speakers - CSANZ

Dr Lund, Dr Kerr and nurse specialists June Poole and Andy McLachlan are part of a small team working on developing an exciting and innovative way of accessing the latest heart failure clinical guidelines on-line. Dr Lund, who is co chair of the process, presented the new format of the guidelines and June presented the development of the patient resource to a very appreciative audience.

Dr Andrew Kerr Cardiac MRI and Valve disease Invited speaker - CSANZ

Dr Kerr presented his important work on the role of MRI in monitoring heart valve function

Andy McLachlan RN Assessment of a nurse led CVD risk management intervention for patients with gout Winner CSANZ affiliates prize

The role of nurses in managing people with chronic conditions has developed rapidly both here and overseas. Evaluation and quality improvement measures are vital parts of these clinics. Andy presented his study on working with people with gout to prevent heart attacks and strokes by ensuring access to evidenced-based interventions shown to reduce these events.

Katherine McLean RN Cardiac Rehabilitation Winner CRANZ prize

Yvonne Johansen RN / Honey Marsh RN The Heart guide in CMDHB 2nd prize CRANZ presentation

Katherine (Middlemore Hospital) and Yvonne and Honey (TKOH PHO) are leaders of the cardiac rehabilitation process here in CMDHB. They have developed integrated and new models of care that promote patient choice about where, when and in what form they receive their rehabilitation after a heart event (heart attack or heart surgery). This encourages more people to take up the offer of this support shown to reduce further heart problems by up to 25%.

Jenny Doherty RN Review of nurse-led elective cardio version service 2008-2009 Winner CRANZ poster

Jenny’s poster describes one year in the nurse cardio version service (controlled electrical shock to reboot an irregular, very fast heart rhythm) in CMDHB and identified important areas where nurses can improve the delivery and quality of this process for the local community.

Dr Jen Li Looi DSE in post recovery apical ballooning syndrome Young Investigator nominee - CSANZ

Dr Li Looi has identified, using echocardiogram, a specific abnormality never before reported in the international literature in the heart muscle of people with a type of heart dysfunction called apical ballooning syndrome. This will help clinical scientists as they develop an understanding of this condition and develop treatments to prevent or manage this condition.

Dr Andrew Kerr The Heart Forecaster tool

Dr Kerr has been leading the PREDICT project (an electronic tool to capture data and provide clinicians with guidelines based information to reduce risk of cardiovascular events) since its initial concept. This new Heart Forecaster tool has been developed in partnership with the Heart Foundation, the University of Auckland and Enigma publishing and is a visual representation of risk of a heart attack aimed at motivating particularly younger people of the benefits of reducing risk behaviour such as smoking. It is available free online from the heart foundation at www.yourheartforecast.org.nz

Dr Jen Li Looi Anonymised electronic tracking of ACS patient outcome and linkage to CVD risk factors in South Auckland.

This poster describes a novel system to allow clinicians to track people’s outcomes after discharge with an acute heart event. This allows more specific targeting of risk factors and more intensive community review of people with potentially poorer outcomes. This electronic tool is part of the PREDICT project that has been used to deliver quality improvements in cardiology for the last 5 years.

Dr Niels Van Pelt Do calcium supplements lead to an increase in coronary calcification?

Dr Jonathon White Levosimendan: Who, when and why at Middlemore Hospital

Dr Niels Van Pelt Use of modern imaging protocol for 64 slice CT cardiac angiography results in a significant reduction in radiation dose received by patients

Dr Chi Wong The absence of stress in patients with “stress cardiomyopathy”

Dr Patricia Ding and Tim Sutton BNP and Troponin I as predictors of RV dysfunction and long term adverse events after pulmonary embolism

Dr Tim Glenie and Patrick Kay PCI in a tertiary hospital without on site Cardiosurgical backup

Norman Quek (Medical Student) Half the ACS patients admitted to Middlemore CCU have a dysglycaemic syndrome

Dr Andrew Kerr Underestimation of aortic flow by phase contrast in aortic stenosis by contemporary CMR

Dr Daniel Garafolo A single multidrug KPI for secondary prevention in ACS patients

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Labtests and CMDHB transition On Monday August 10 Labtests took up service in the Counties Manukau DHB area with response teams on-site at Carbine Road monitoring all laboratory and service operations.

The Auckland Region DHBs’ laboratory project manager, Tim Wood, will be at Labtests to oversee operations throughout transition. Tim will also be ‘in residence’ during ADHB’s transition on August 24th.

“The teams have been responsive to emerging issues on the whole and focused on giving good service to patients,” says Tim. “I will be here through-out the transition to continue to monitor progress and ensure that any issues are being resolved.”

Any change can prove challenging and while the transition is generally being well managed there have been some issues. “Many of the initial problems have been around changes in process and in some instances, a lack of updated contact details,” says Tim. “Some doctors have moved practices since Labtests collected their information; where this has not been reported results have been going to the last known practice.”

The most significant issues have come from the number of request forms with no doctor details, consequently reporting of results is extremely difficult. Labtests have been using various resources to try to identify the referring doctor. There have been several hundred such requests. Labtests is trying to ensure that all urgent and critical results are being phoned through and treated as a priority.

Some general practices continue to collect specimens for their patients. Labtests’ collection materials differ from DML’s. Information on the correct materials to use for which test is available on the Labtests website www.labtests.co.nz

Some patients have also been confused as to where the collection centres are located. This is expected to improve as the changes become more widely known. Doctors have been supplied with information to give to patients regarding where the collection centres are and the opening hours. In addition, DML collection rooms have had some information up to advise patients of the closest Lab Tests collection centre. The issues around long waiting times is currently being addressed and appear to be both a resourcing and a staff inexperience issue. Labtests are also coming to grips with patient flows and the times when demand is high.

A patient with either a Lab Tests form or a DML form will be able to go to any collection centre operated by either of the 2 labs through to 6th September to have their specimen collected. The exception is for a small range of tests where a booking is required. Where this is the case

patients will need to book with the laboratory that is providing the service in the region in which they reside. From 7th September only Lab Tests collection centres will be able to collect specimens.

The range of specialist tests where a booking is required are:• Glucosetolerancetests• Skinallergytests• Coagulationscreenwithbleedingtime• Mycologyspecimencollections• Tuberculosisskintests(MantouxtestsTB)• Frozensections• Fineneedleaspirates• Bonemarrowaspirates.

Labtests report that many patients are taking advantage of the Labtests collection centres’ earlier opening times. 90% of Labtests’ collection centres are open from 7am to make early-morning fasting tests more convenient and improve patient access outside work hours.

Labtests have also significantly increased the number of centres open on Saturdays to make it easier for patients to get their tests outside work hours. Eleven centres in Counties Manukau DHB area will be open on Saturdays and Labtests’ Carbine Road collection centre will also be open every Sunday from 24 August (except public holidays) for urgent tests.

As is the current case, there will be a home collection service to visit patients in their homes when it is clinically required. GP’s should let Labtests know if they have a patient that is too unwell to visit a collection centre and needs a home visit by calling 0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837). Labtests will have 20 dedicated mobile phlebotomists out everyday providing the home collection service.

During the transition period, Labtests and DML will accept each others’ referral forms for blood, urine and other laboratory tests. DML forms will be accepted at Labtests collection centres for both routine and specialised tests. Cards for repeat/ongoing tests will be accepted by Labtests initially, but the patient will be asked to see their GP or specialist to update this to a Labtests form.

A large number of DML test request forms are still in circulation. Doctors continuing to use old DML forms during transition can assist by entering their Labtests practitioner identification code onto the form or ensuring their name and practice contact information is clearly stated.

One of the key changes for GPs and specialists will be Labtests roll-out over the next year of electronic test requesting (e-requesting). This will be the first time that such a service will be available for doctors in the Auckland region and it will mean Labtests’ laboratory will let referring clinicians know if their patients haven’t had the tests done that they require.

For more information• ForalistandlocationmapofLabtests’

collection centres in Counties Manukau, as well as opening times, visit: www.labtests.co.nz

• CallLabtestson0508 LABTESTS (0508 522 837)

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This brought Diabetes to the forefront as the real reason for getting people to make healthy changes to their eating and physical behaviours. Stage 1 of the Diabetes campaign “It doesn’t have to be this way” focussed on the complications such as amputations, blindness and renal failure, linking these outcomes with what we feed our children.

Stage 2 of the campaign introduced a focus on the real actions that families can do to “reduce the risk” of diabetes. Advertising concepts covered the three main meal times, encouraging people to add more fruit and vegetables to their diets, reducing

the amount of fatty foods eaten and introduced the message of reducing portion sizes. Concepts also included getting active as an important and fun activity for all the family, not just the kids.

Initial evaluation of the current campaign showed that our Counties Manukau audiences have engaged with the Let’s Beat Diabetes campaign at an incredibly high rate. Prompted awareness of the campaign was 81% with much higher awareness by Maaori and Pacific. Our community found the campaign relevant and showed high awareness of preventing Type 2 Diabetes through obesity reduction.

Our communities told us in a series of focus groups that they wanted a much more direct campaign approach, so last year the original Swap2win campaign was modified to a harder-hitting campaign.

Diabetes – Reduce Your Risk

Health Education available in Hindi & Punjabi

South Asian communities are now able to access Self Management Programmes which help support those with an illness such as diabetes, gout and heart disease.

It helps them gain confidence in their ability to control their symptoms and how their health problems affect their lives. This information is available in Gujarathi, Hindi and Punjabi. A free six week programme is currently running in Hindi and English.

Self Management programmes are run across the Counties Manukau region largely through Primary Health Organisations. For the South Asian-specific courses Procare and East Tamaki Healthcare are working together to offer the programme. There are 44 people enrolled in the Hindi and English course at the moment. “The turn out is pretty awesome,” says Parvin Kapila, Health Promoter from Procare Manukau. “They are a very receptive group, all aged over 50, and keen to learn and practice what they learn.” Sangeeta Shah, Self Management Education co-ordinator from East Tamaki says that the sessions are very interactive and encourages people to come along.

Referrals to this particular group have come via Shanti Niwas; however to take part in future courses, patients can ask for a referral from their family doctor or practice nurse.

South Asian people have a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes and heart disease than many other ethnic groups. The complications of Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented or delayed through good daily management of the condition and through regular health check ups.

Overall Results from the Counties Manukau Community:81% now feel more motivated to eat healthily79% now more concerned about the issue of diabetes79% now feel more motivated to be active79% feel more motivated to eat a healthy breakfast77% now more concerned about obesity76% now feel more motivated to eat more fruit75% now feel more motivated to eat more vegetables73% now feel more motivated to drink water instead of fizzy drink72% now more likely to get someone in their family to have a health check or test for diabetes68% now more likely to have a health check up or test for diabetes68% now felt more motivated to eat less fried foods or takeaways62% now felt more motivated to reduce the amount they eat.

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The World Health Organization has identified that poor mental health is one of the most common illnesses in the world and also one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated.

SASI: The South Auckland Mental Health Special Interest group

The World Health Organization has identified that poor Mental Health is one of the most common illnesses in the world and also one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated.

Nationally and internationally there is a continuing move for primary health to become more active in addressing and supporting the mental health needs of local communities.

Support and collaboration with secondary mental health services and increased education have been cited as instrumental for the success of collaborative working across primary and secondary health services.

“The need for good linkages between primary care and other levels of care cannot be over stressed” WHO 2008

With this information in mind, a special interest group was established between workers from Mental Health Services, CMDHB, and local Primary Health Organisations attempting to build on some of these linkages.

The group provides an opportunity for professionals from both primary and secondary services to come together and find out more about different mental health topics. These informal evenings cover a variety of mental health themes with guest speakers; resources are available for attendees to take away. Feedback via evaluations on these evenings has been excellent with regular requests for more sessions.

BackgroundIn July 2008, Alison Sullivan, working as a pharmaceutical company representative, hosted an educational evening on Diabetes and Mental Health. This was well attended by both Primary Care and Secondary care staff. During the course of the evening one of the CMDHB Nurse Educators, Denise Black, commented that it was such a success that it would be useful to have regular, mutually beneficial, educationally-focused evenings.

These ideas evolved during follow up meetings with Primary Mental Health Staff from the Counties Manukau District Health Board area: Wayne Hussey, Lisa Cartledge and Rudy Bakker (CMDHB Primary Mental Health Nurse Representatives), Maitera Tutahi (CMDHB Maori Clinical Service), Anne McDonald (East Health Trust PHO), Peter Gillan (The Peoples Centre Trust), Ita Ioasa-Martin (Mangere Community Health Trust) and Viji Yuvarjan (Procare Network Manukau). The idea was further discussed, expanded and refined. Unfortunately, at this time, Alison resigned her position for another company; however the concepts continued to develop.

This group was named South Auckland Special Interest Group colloquially shortened to SASI.

An outstanding feature of this SASI group is that it is comprised of Primary Mental Health staff employed by secondary care services, as well as Primary Mental Health staff employed by primary health organisations. This was a clear example of two diverse paradigms working with one joint clear goal of linking Primary and Secondary mental health services. The identified key issue was to improve the mental health outcomes for the enrolled population of CMDHB.

Aims and ObjectivesThe initial aims and objectives for the SASI group were;• Toestablishpeergroupmeetingsbetween

primary care and secondary care staff. • EducativepresentationsforPrimarycareto

be able to feel better equipped to deal with mental health issues

• Toassistsecondaryservicestobemorecognisant of the relationship between the physical and mental health.

• Encouragebetterlinksandliaisonbetweenprimary and secondary care.

• Tousespeakersandresourcesthatarelocaland relevant to the Counties Manukau DHB demographic and catchment area.

• Toenhancebothprimaryandsecondarycareto be able to see mental health from another perspective.

• Todeveloplinksandrelationshipsacrossthehealth sectors.

• Toprovideaholisticperspectiveandtoupdatestaff on mental health issues.The group was keen to ensure that the sessions

were informal, educative, relevant to our DHB catchment area, topical and with resources that would be practically useful for the attendees.

When and whereThe evenings are held bi-monthly on the first Wednesday of the month at the Manukau Super Clinic from 5.30pm until 8.00pm. There have been three evenings to date with topics covering, depression, post-natal depression, psychosis, metabolic testing, and cultural aspects of mental health.

After each session there is a short evaluation which is used to enhance and inform the SASI team topics for future sessions

The next evening is on Wednesday, September 2, the theme being ‘working with people with personality issues’. The theme for November 4 is drugs, alcohol and dual diagnosis.

If you would like to attend one of these evenings or would like more information please contact Rudy Bakker on bakkerr@middlemore.co.nz or telephone (09) 2709090.

To celebrate World Breastfeeding Week, Woman’s Health Action co-ordinated venues throughout NZ to see how many women could simultaneously latch and breastfeed their babies.

The biggest gathering of mothers and babies took place at the Hoyts Cinema Complex at Sylvia Park with more than 177 mothers breastfeeding their babies.

The event has taken many months of planning with various organisations throughout the region working together to ensure its success. The aim is to raise the profile of breastfeeding and to see it as the normal and optimal way to feed a child. Community support is vital for breastfeeding to succeed as are societal attitudes and antenatal education.

This year’s theme was “Breastfeeding. A Vital Emergency Response – Are you Ready?” Young children are extremely vulnerable in disaster situations and clean water or food may not be readily available leading to disease and even death. Breastfed infants are at an advantage as they can continue to be fed as breast milk is always available, it is at the correct temperature, it has antiviral and antibacterial properties, it is clean and it is comforting for both mother and baby.

World Breastfeeding Week is a world wide initiative in its 18th year spearheaded by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action.

THE BIG LATCH ON:World Breastfeeding Week,1-7 August 09

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Anna Elders is the new Clinical Nurse Specialist in Therapeutic Interventions at Tiaho Mai, the inpatient service at Counties Manukau District Health Board.

Originally from New Zealand, she has spent the past five years working in the United Kingdom. During this time Anna undertook several post-graduate training programmes, including a diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and gained experience within Britain’s National Health Service, including working as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist within a trauma service.

The main aim of the Clinical Nurse Specialist in Therapeutic Interventions is to embed an evidence-based therapeutic approach - CBT, into the care provided to patients. A multi-level training programme along with group and individual supervision will be offered to Multi Disciplinary Team staff over the next two years. Trained staff will be encouraged to undertake basic, short-term, formulation-driven pieces of work with their patients

and we will be offering a CBT skills based course for patients during their stay.

CBT has a strong evidence base in its efficacy to alleviate symptoms of many disabling mental health disorders. The evidence for its effectiveness in the inpatient setting is currently expanding and we hope to make a valuable contribution towards this. We plan to undertake pieces of research regarding both staff and patient outcomes through the training, patient course and one-on-one work that will be on offer.

Anna believes we will have the first inpatient service in New Zealand to attempt to put in place such a structured, long-term project positioned around a therapeutic modality. We hope that as a result of this project, both staff and patients will gain a more positive experience within Tiaho Mai so that we can really bring a focus of recovery into our inpatient setting.

Anna is very interested in making connections with individual clinicians and services who are interested in this project. Please feel free to contact her on 021 243 3023 or via email at anna.elders@middlemore.co.nz for more details.

Increasing Access to Cognitive Behavioural Interventions at Tiaho Mai Inpatient Service

This holistic approach to vegetable growing is being brought to Manurewa Marae by Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT), which will run its National Certificate in Horticulture Level 2 course at the Marae from August.

MIT developed the new Level 2 course following discussions with the Let’s Beat Diabetes Programme about Fruit and Vegetable gardening and improving the health of our community most at risk of Type 2 Diabetes through good nutrition and physical activity.

MIT is working in partnership with the Let’s Beat Diabetes Programme to deliver the education, which will equip members of the community with key horticulture and vegetable growing skills as they plan and develop a community vegetable garden.

Dave Bradshaw, Head of MIT’s School of Horticulture & Landscaping hopes that the

community-based programme will attract great interest.

”By taking this programme out to the community we hope to attract people who otherwise might not consider or experience tertiary education,” says Dave. “For some people this programme could be the first step towards significant educational progression with numerous opportunities to pathway to higher level horticulture and landscaping programmes or the chance to enter the horticulture industry, which is crying out for skilled workers.”

“Statistically, Counties Manukau has the highest rate of diagnosed diabetes, says Tracey Barron, Programme Manager for Let’s Beat Diabetes. “We’re committed to improving the health of people within Counties Manukau with initiatives like this. Obesity is the main driver of Type 2 Diabetes, so gardening and vegetable

growing are perfect ways to help improve fitness levels and vegetable intake.”

Students will learn how to prepare garden beds, sow seeds, plant crops including Maori vegetables, grow, maintain and harvest vegetables. At the end of the programme a nutritionist will show the students how to best prepare and cook their produce for a healthy, family meal.

The course is open to anyone with an interest in horticulture and landscaping with a particular emphasis on attracting students from the Maori and Pacific communities, who are particularly at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Veges Produce a Healthy EducationA new initiative at Manurewa Marae will teach locals how to grow, harvest and prepare vegetables while they gain a nationally-recognised qualification & learn how to keep healthy through eating three or more servings of vegetables a day.

After some time without access to these useful leaflets they are back, bolder, brighter and updated. They contain basic information for patients and their families/whanau about Pain Relief, Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) and Epidurals.

Information has been updated from the previous version, which was printed in 2003, and ensures all patients who have surgery or an injury are given access to the appropriate pain management information leaflet.

Each leaflet includes a pain assessment tool showing the modified Wong-Baker faces with a numeric pain scale. These tools are used by the Acute Pain Service and will now be used across the board so that everyone who assesses a patient’s comfort/discomfort level will use the same measure.

Leaflets can be obtained by wards through Oracle, and are an excellent source of information to help our patients understand their pain management.

Pain Relief, Patient Controlled Analgesia PCA and Epidurals – New Leaflets

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A Huge Thank You to the Papatoetoe West Rotary Club Inc

[L-R] Ken Russell, Past President of Papatoetoe West Rotary Club Inc, Past District Governor, Rotary International District 9920, Alan Davies presenting cheque to John Steele on behalf of the South Auckland Health Foundation.

As if celebrating its first birthday wasn’t enough for ICU last month, they also received another reason to smile.

The second reason was a great surprise – a $70,000.00 donation from the Papatoetoe West Rotary Club Inc.

The money was pledged last May at the Mayoress’ Charity Gala Ball, and much fundraising has taken place to achieve this extraordinary goal.

Past President of the Papatoetoe West Rotary Club, Ken Russell was invited to the celebrations to present the cheque.

“It was wonderful to be involved with the inaugural Mayoress’ Charity Gala Ball,” he said, “We were able to involve several other Rotary clubs plus we also received support from the International NSW Australian District to raise these funds – it is such a good cause, they were all happy to participate”.

Funds were used to equip a paediatric bedspace in the ICU, including four specialised electronic pumps.

Dr Catherine Simpson, Clinical Director of Acute Care was overwhelmed by the unexpected bonus, “Without this wonderful support from our donors this ICU unit would just be four walls and some windows!” she said.

The Lions Club of Howick host an annual family fireworks display at Alexandra Park, Greenlane. All proceeds from the event benefit the Middlemore Eye Service [Ophthalmology Department]

We are looking for volunteers to assist with gate admission. Games, selling light sticks etc.

WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. Refreshments and free fireworks show supplied!!!What: Howick Family Fireworks DisplayWhere: Alexandra Park, GreenlaneWhen: 31st October 2010Who to contact: Rachael Sheehan, x2074

VolunteersRequired

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For the tenth consecutive year representatives from the Bucklands Beach Lions Club have made a donation to Kidz First Children’s Hospital.

The money came from one of their fundraising activities – the annual ‘Cycle for Life’.

The $3000.00 donation will be directed into the Kidz First community ‘Prescription and Eyeglasses fund’ which is used to assist identified families purchase prescription eyeglasses for their children.

Natalie Dawson, Project Leader of the Kidz First Public Health Nursing, who assists in administering the fund, was thrilled to receive the donation. “We have noticed that more families need assistance in purchasing eyeglasses,” she said, “recently one or both parents have been made redundant and we are pleased to able to assist them with this valuable resource’.

Cycle for Life organiser and Lions member Geoff Barnett was pleased to be able to make the donation again this year. He described the fund as a way of overcoming ‘a barrier to learning’. The proceeds from the annual Cycle for Life is shared amongst several children’s life skills and health charities.

Bucklands Beach Lions Club Does it Again

Past President Clayton Allsop presenting cheque to Natalie Dawson from Kidz First Children’s Hospital.

Look out for fundraising activities and donation buckets at your local Progressive supermarket. The Fresh Future Appeal Trust has donated over $335,000.00 to Kidz First over the last two years, so please join us in supporting this appeal.

Staff from all Foodtown, Countdown, Woolworths, SuperValue, FreshChoice and Dick Smith stores nationwide have a mutual goal – raising money for ten children’s hospitals and wards across the country, including Kidz First Children’s Hospital.

Peter Smith, Managing Director of Progressive Enterprises Limited says “At Progressive, we realise that hospitals in New Zealand rely

on community support and donations. We also believe that sick children should have access to the best medical treatment and equipment. That’s why we are passionate about raising funds to support kids’ health”.

The South Auckland Health Foundation has

been asked to support the appeal by selling Fresh Future raffle tickets – they are only $5 each and the fabulous first prize is a Volkswagon Polo valued at $26,490.

Please ring Rachael on 2708808 x2074 to purchase a ticket.

The third Annual Appeal for Fresh Future kicked off this month.

Fresh Future Annual Appeal: 3rd August~ 27th September

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Iconic New Zealand department store Farmers is celebrating its 100th birthday this year.

In recognition of the milestone, Farmers Managing Director Rod McDermott has announced a focus on ‘giving back’ in each of the communities where Farmers operates.

“Each store [including the Support Office and Distribution Centre] has selected a charity to support”, says Rod. “The staff will then participate in fundraising activities and Farmers will match the money raised by the stores, Support Office and Distribution Centre up to $1,000,000. This is our way of thanking New Zealanders for their support over the last century”.

The Foundation was thrilled to learn that two areas under the CMDHB umbrella will benefit from the fundraising efforts of the Farmers Support Office and Distribution Centre – the funds will be split equally between Kidz First Children’s Hospital and Auckland Spinal Rehabilitation Centre.

The South Auckland Health Foundation is excited to welcome Farmers to its family of supporters and looks forward to a mutually rewarding relationship with their team.

Farmers100 Year

BirthdayCelebrations

SkyCity & Auckland Rugby kick for kidz First Childrens’ HospitalSKYCITY Auckland and Auckland Rugby have partnered up for a unique charity initiative that will benefit Kidz First in the bid to raise money for the Neonatal Unit.

At every Auckland Rugby home game in the Air New Zealand Cup, whenever the Auckland team kicks a penalty, conversion or a drop goal, SKYCITY Auckland will donate $100.00 cash to Kidz First Neonatal Unit.

SKYCITY’s Group General Manager of Marketing, Kevin Clayton is pleased that SKYCITY is assisting Kidz First to raise money through New Zealand’s favourite sport.

“We are excited to be able to help out such a deserving charity through our sponsorship with Auckland Rugby, knowing that the money raised will go towards saving the lives of infants.”

The money raised will go towards acquiring much needed equipment for Kidz First Neonatal Unit, based at Middlemore Hospital, which provides expert around-the-clock care for newborn babies who are critically ill or born prematurely.

Pam Tregonning, Executive Director of the South Auckland Health Foundation was excited to learn of the ‘Kick for Cash’ promotion. “We are so grateful for the support of SKYCITY Auckland and Auckland Rugby for selecting Kidz First as their charity” she said, “The ongoing support of these two iconic organizations mean so much to us”.

Follow the fun – the dates of the home games are:Saturday 8 August versus Canterbury 7:35pm ($400 to Kidz First)Sunday 30 August versus Bay of Plenty 2:35pmSunday 13 September versus Manawatu 2:35pmSaturday 19 September versus North Harbour 2:35pmSaturday 3 October versus Southland 2:35pmSunday 18 October versus Counties Manukau 2:35pm

The South Auckland Health Foundation are very grateful to have had the opportunity to have a ‘collection’ at the Auckland v Canterbury Air New Zealand Cup game at Eden Park last week.

Almost $2000.00 was raised at the event which will be used to purchase an apnoea monitor for Kidz First Neonatal Unit.

We would also like to extend a big thank you to the CMDHB staff that assisted with volunteer work for us at the event.

Auckland Rugby & SkyCITy Support Our kidz

CONNECT | PAGE 11

Thank you to the kiwanis Club of Drury

Kidz First Children’s Hospital has again been selected as the charity benefiting from the 2010 annual Funfest.

Funfest is four days filled with free fun activities for kids and their families.

But we need your help….

To help the event be as successful as possible we need volunteers to help with games, face painting etc.

DETAILS What: Funfest 2010Where: Alexandra Park, GreenlaneWhen: 7-8-9-10 January 2010

If you would like to be a volunteer for one of the days at Funfest, please call Rachael on 2708808 x 2074.

Funfest is Coming: Get these Dates in your Calendar

The South Auckland Health Foundation was thrilled to receive a telephone call from Gay McNamara of Kiwanis Drury advising she had a $2,000 donation.

With the main focus of the Kiwanis service group being education and helping young children, the Eyeglass and Prescription fund run by the South Auckland Health Foundation was an ideal recipient.

The Eyeglass and Prescription fund assists financially struggling families purchase eyeglasses and prescriptions for their children.

Last year the fund provided 35 pairs of glasses and 80 prescriptions to Counties Manukau children.

Gay McNamara [LHS] presenting a $2000.00 cheque to Rachael Sheehan, Community Relations Officer at the South Auckland Health Foundation.

Following several issues raised in the media over the past few weeks it is probably timely to remind readers about the South Auckland Health Foundation, based at Middlemore Hospital.

Our aim is to raise funds to enhance the services offered by the Counties Manukau District Health Board. The South Auckland Health Foundation [SAHF] is a registered charity with the Charities Commission. The SAHF was established in 1999, so has been operating for ten years. Over this time the Foundation has raised over $28M for projects across the DHB. Through careful monitoring of our operating expenses, last year we operated at only 11.3% cost to income.

The SAHF is able to give 100% of any donation to the project for which it is intended – we can achieve this by getting sponsorship for our operating costs.

There are many ways you can support us – you may like to make a donation, leave a bequest, become a volunteer or knit for our Wool Programme. If you would like to know more about the South Auckland Health Foundation and the work we do please call us on 2708808, visit www.sahf.co.nz or pop up and visit us on the second floor of the Support Building.

Charities: a Hot Topic

CONNECT | PAGE 12

We are especially interested in contributions from our community partners.If you have a story you would like to contribute for Connect please email it to the Editor at: lryoung@middlemore.co.nz

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Congratulations go to CMDHB’s inaugural first cohort of the organisation’s Foundations of Management Programme, pictured here along with some of the programme facilitators. The programme completion was celebrated in July with participants presenting impressive Quality Projects undertaken and completed as part of the learning process. This group’s enthusiasm and commitment throughout the journey of learning as new managers at CMDHB is sure to benefit the organisation well into the future.

The 20 participants of this group have formed a team of peers available to call upon for support. We wish them all well in their careers as managers.