Horowhenua StarThe new Levin Health and Wellbeing Hub has begun rising on Levin’s Durham Street, with building owners Horowhenua Developments Ltd saying it will help attract new medical staff to the region.
Attracting and keeping staff here has been an ongoing problem.
“We are hoping to set a new standard for improved patient experience,” says Melissa Hanson of Horowhenua Developments (HDL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Horowhenua NZ Trust.
HDL owns the land and building and are seeing the project through to the end, despite hurdles. Others have tried before and failed to negotiate those hurdles successfully.
The project is a design-and-build with Homestead Construction. The facility will include space for GPs, a pharmacy, radiology and space for one other tenancy.
Glenn Hoyle of Medispace specialises in medical facilities and says he’s found the Horowhenua Developments approach unique. Medispace has provided expertise and guidance to HDL throughout the project.
Practice manager of Masonic Medical Hannah Watson says its clinic will take up the GP space.
“The clinic has been part of a cooperative network for a long time, such as the after-hours group and the Horowhenua casualty roster,” she says. “This has been long anticipated and it’s great to have several services in one space. It will allow our clinic to expand and diversify.”
Longtime local pharmacist Neville Gimblett will set up his third pharmacy in the town. His experience in setting up new facilities includes involvement with Te Wai Ora in Foxton 10 years ago.
He says getting qualified staff is a big task. Over the years he’s trained many people and helped staff from China, Philippines, Malaysia and Zimbabwe to get their registration recognised from his pharmacies in Foxton and Levin. Although he retired a few years ago, he has recently stepped back in, revitalising his expertise to remotely oversee the operations of his Levin pharmacies from Christchurch.
Melissa Hanson says that access to health is a top priority for Horowhenua and the company.
“It’s very difficult to do. We’ve had many rethinks and restarts in the last few years to try and make it work.”
She says the facility will have GPs, a pharmacy, and radiology. There’s room for 4-5 tenants, and customer car parking.
“It will be a fit-for-purpose building with shared facilities, such as a staff kitchen, and a staff breakout space/meeting room.”
Melissa says the company has picked to join the hub community-minded businesses wanting to improve the patient experience, work with others, and achieve growth in their businesses.
Local iwi are excited about the hub.
“Muaūpoko are pleased to have played a role from the outset of this project,” says Di Rump, He Kura Hokioi – chief executive of Muaūpoko Tribal Authority. “Including the opportunity to share the voice of whānau Muaūpoko and whānau Māori in what accessible health service delivery should look like, representation on the community steering group and our integration into the design team.
“We look forward to a facility of this calibre in Taitoko serving the needs of the whole region.”
The 1100sq m building will open later in the year.
An artist’s impression of the new Health and Wellbeing Hub in Levin. Images supplied