In this pānui you will find the following information:

We continue to gather community insights through kaupapa and events our team is involved in, helping us tailor services that align with the needs of whānau in Pare Hauraki. The community insights we captured throughout July came from our oral health initiative, Niho Ora ki Hauraki. 

 

With our fourth round of oral health care set to be delivered in Waihī next school holidays, we look forward to sharing kōrero and listening to your feedback.

 

Below is a piece of kōrero from whānau who received treatment through our most recent launch in Paeroa.

 

Our Niho Ora ki Hauraki initiative is a response to the overwhelming demand expressed by our communities in Hauraki, for an affordable and accessible oral health service delivered closer to home. A collaboration between Te Tara o Te Whai and Dental Planet and supporting partners Te Whatu Ora and The Ministry of Social Development (MSD), Niho Ora ki Hauraki provides essential oral health care to eligible whānau in Hauraki.

 

As we continue to deliver oral health care to Hauraki communities with the highest need, we have so far provided treatment to whānau in Thames, Manaia and Paeroa with our next launch planned for Waihī in the coming school holidays. 

 

 

As the area identified with the highest oral health need, Niho Ora ki Hauraki was first launched in Thames in February earlier this year. Over two weeks, free oral health treatments were provided for more than 50 Thames whānau. Of these 50 people, 54% expressed they were experiencing levels of pain and discomfort before treatment. By the end of the two weeks, Dental Planet had completed 31 extractions, 107 fillings and 48 treatments for gum disease with $975 being the average cost of treatment per person.

 

Since our launch in Thames, Alison and Brian Alexander shared their experience accessing oral health care through Niho Ora ki Hauraki. If you'd like to listen to their kōrero, click here.

With the continued partnership and support from Dental Planet, we have successfully delivered Niho Ora ki Hauraki to whānau in Manaia.

 

Operating out of Te Wharekura o Manaia, Niho Ora ki Hauraki has provided funded dental care to more than 60 people during the April school holidays. Treatments included 65 tooth extractions, 129 fillings and the administration of 88 gum disease treatments. 

 

Free preventative health and screening services were made available for whānau each week at Te Wharekura o Manaia. Available services included access to vaccination and immunisation services, cervical and HPV screening, blood pressure and blood sugar testing. Our Taurima Te Pā Harakeke team was also there to support and offer midwifery advice to hapū māmā. Aimed at improving the well-being of our harder-to-reach communities, these services were available to all whānau.

 

Check out a recap of the services available on the day here.

 

Our team would also like to acknowledge whānau Vanessa, Jocelyn and Lisa, who allowed us to interview them about their experience accessing free oral health care through our Niho Ora ki Hauraki initiative. A massive thank you to you all!

 

If you'd like to listen to Vanessa's kōrero, you can watch it here.

Our most recent launch of Niho Ora ki Hauraki took place in Paeroa these past school holidays. Based at Paeroa Central School, our team saw over 70 whānau for assessments and Dental Planet completed over 40 oral health treatments. 

 

During the first week of delivering Niho Ora ki Hauraki, Te Whatu Ora provided a dental therapist who offered free dental check-ups and fluoride applications for tamariki at Paeroa Central School. Over twenty tamariki received a dental check-up or a fluoride application on the day.

 

Hauora services were also available for whānau to screen or learn more about their services. Hauora services included Support to Screening Hauraki (breast and cervical), immunisations, Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki's Piki Te Ora team and the Waikato National Bowel Screening Programme's team. Click here to watch a recap of the day.

 

Thank you to the community for your participation and to the service providers for your continued collaboration and partnership. It's been a pleasure working together to improve health outcomes for our small communities.

Place name: Whangapoua

Literal Translation: ‘The enclosed waters of the poua'

 

Te Pungapunga is another of the bay's names and describes the abundance of raupō found in the surrounding swamps from which the pungapunga (pollen) was gathered and baked into cakes. This was also known as pua, which formed a staple food stock in early times. The whole area was occupied extensively by many tribes because of the favourable situation for food and crops. These tribes consisted of Ngāti Pare, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Rongoū, Ngāti Whanaunga.

 

Source: Tūroa, T. (2000). Te Takoto o te Whenua o Hauraki =: Hauraki landmarks. http://olac.ldc.upenn.edu/item/oai:pacific.library.manoa.hawaii.edu:2105647