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Friday 29 September 2023
Celebrating GB Community Health
Getting the party started: Volunteer gardener Tui Boyes cuts the birthday cake at the Golden Bay Community Health celebration last Saturday. Photo: Jo Richards. JO RICHARDS
Golden Bay Community Health celebrated its tenth birthday in style last Saturday. Proceedings began with a dawn unveiling of a carved waharoa (entranceway) featuring a new kōwhaiwhai pattern gifted by Manawhenua ki Mohua (MKM), and the repositioning of the mauri stone to the patients’ waiting room. In the early afternoon, as the 150 or so guests arrived, many paused to listen to Tākaka Citizens Band before passing through the
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waharoa and into the main building. Plans for an outdoor garden party were thwarted by the weather but nobody seemed to mind as they took their seats in the waiting room and along the full length of the main corridor. At 2pm, MKM matua Harvey Ruru got the party started by wishing happy birthday to “the beautiful community hospital” and leading the congregation in a rendition of “Happy Birthday” in te reo. Golden Bay Community Health (GBCH) Ray White Golden Bay
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general manger Ruth Robson began her address by acknowledging MKM for their gift of the entranceway, before welcoming “official guests and those who have contributed to what we have here”. Paying tribute to her predecessors Rhoda McDonald and Linzi Birmingham, Ruth said there was “a lot to celebrate” and acknowledged the “vision of the community 15 years ago”, who saw the need for an integrated health facility. GBCH, she explained, now employs 120 people, and offers round-
the-clock whole life care to the community on one site. “Golden Bay is served better than many rural communities.” In the spirit of the day, the gifts kept coming; Ruth explained that GBCH would shortly unwrap a new X-ray machine, which would provide an enhanced diagnostic capability and eliminate the need for patients with suspected broken bones to travel over the Hill. The announcement received a spontaneous round of applause. Continued on page 8
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ISSN (PRINT) 2538-0923 ISSN (ONLINE) 2538-0931
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