Auckland foundation aims to bridge health gap

Health projects not able to be funded by the Government and treatments not available anywhere else in the country could get lift-off with today’s official launch of the Auckland Health Foundation.

The initiative has been in the pipeline for nearly two years and will rely solely on public donations to advance new technologies, research and resourcing within Auckland District Health Board.

AHF chief executive Gwen Green said the initiative would run similarly to the Starship Foundation but focus more on adult health care.

“We have been working with each department at Auckland DHB and know they have a list of priorities and obviously with a budget not all were able to get funding.”

She said the purpose of the foundation was not to substitute public health care but to go above and beyond.

“A lot of our work will be looking at what’s already being developed around the hospital and how we can pull it together and advance that.”

One project that was under way was a world-class simulation centre which would operate as a learning environment for junior staff and a space to practice complex or uncommon procedures.

“While some clinical areas have developed a simulation curriculum greater consistency and better resourcing is required,” Green said. The foundation aimed to raise up to $5.5 million to fund the simulation centre project over the next three years.

Other projects that had already taken off were 40 inhospital Wha¯nau rooms for patients’ loved ones, and a research and discovery fund planned to build NZ’s largest medical training facility.