Trust to launch local health fundraising for integrated family health centre
The Interim Management Group is registering a trust deed so it can start the fundraising needed to build an integrated family health centre for Golden Bay.
The IMG has held off registering the trust because Ministerial approval is needed for the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board to participate.
This approval is taking a bit longer than planned and so IMG has decided to go ahead with registering the trust and the DHB can join later. Ministerial approval cannot occur until Treaty of Waitangi issues are worked through related to the transfer of Crown land to the community trust.
“We remain committed to transferring the community hospital and land to the trust as soon as we can,” NMDHB chief executive John Peters said. “We decided this approval should not hold up the project.”
The trust will mean charitable status can be applied for. The community trust, which will own the property and lease it to Nelson Bays Primary Health to run, will have up to seven initial trustees. The interim trustees will be members of the IMG. Permanent appointees will be decided once the project is more advanced.
Registering the trust will mean the local IMG members can kick off their fund raising plan. The group has identified three key sources of funds: from the sale of existing assets (the medical centre and Joan Whiting rest home), donor and charitable organisations, and local donations.
Local IMG member and Community Board member Carolyn McLellan said the group was still finalising the numbers, but is working on raising about $2 million from the three sources.
This money, plus the $1.5 million in value the DHB is donating in the form of the hospital, will provide the necessary equity for the trust to borrow $3.5 million to build the health centre. The IMG is talking to a number of potential lenders.
“We would like the whole community to get behind this project. It’s about securing health services for Golden Bay so people won’t have to go over the hill for their health care.
“This is a family health centre, providing everything from maternity care, to better after-hours and emergency care to identifying health problems earlier so we can keep people fit and healthy and stay here. And of course we know we won’t be able to keep a rest home unless it is part of an integrated facility.
“We have always said the numbers stack up and the Ministry of Health would not be backing this as possibly New Zealand’s first integrated family health centre unless they believed that too.
“But to make it self-sustaining we have to keep the debt as low as possible, and that’s why we want to raise as much money as we can from donations. Some of that money will come from selling assets, some will come from public funding agencies and some will come from local people, so the community can own our health centre.
“This health centre will touch everyone, whether you go to the doctor for the flu, have an accident, need a chronic condition managed, have a baby or want to spend your twilight years among your family and friends. We owe it to each other to support this.”
Mrs McLellan said there would be more information about how people can contribute over the coming few months.
She said the community had got right behind building the medical centre many years ago and proceeds from that facility would be going into the family health centre, as would any money from the sale of Joan Whiting.
“This is investing in all our futures, so we want to make sure we get it right from the outset.”
Submitted by the IMG
