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Auckland region wins Health Innovation Awards  (October 2007)

Auckland won four Health Innovation Awards, including the Supreme Award and the Excellence in Prevention and Excellence in Quality Improvement Awards at the annual awards held in Wellington on October 10.

The Supreme Award was given to the Mangere Healthy Kai programme which also won the Excellence in Prevention Award. The Healthy Kai programme’s aim is to change the eating habits in the Mangere Town Centre by providing healthy food choices which in time will help to stem the increase of obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Since 2003 food retailers in the area have been encouraged and supported to sell more healthy food choices such as filled rolls, sandwiches, grilled fish, stir fry, fruit and vegetables… and to reduce the sales of high fat foods.

The Healthy Kai programme is a collaborative effort between Auckland Regional Public Health Service, the Mangere Community Health Trust, the National Heart Foundation, Bader Healthcare, Te Kupenga O Hoturoa PHO, Procare Network Manukau PHO, Total Healthcare Otara PHO and Manukau City Council.

“It is a wonderful result for all parties involved including the participating retailers; it demonstrates how a good idea, well thought through and excellently implemented can have such worthwhile results. It’s rewarding to win an award, but the real winners are the people of Mangere,” says Cheryl Hamilton, ARPHS Health Outcomes manager.

Healthy Kai programmes also operate in Otara, Glen Innes and Glen Eden and it is now hoped that the programme can be a used as model for other communities in New Zealand.

The Health Innovation Awards is very competitive, with 190 entries and 22 finalists this year. The Asian Smokefree Communities Programme, which ARPHS was involved with, was also highly commended by the Judges with a special award in the Excellence in Primary Health Care category.

Other Auckland region winners are the Waitemata DHB: Colorectal Cancer Service Improvement Project which won Excellence in Quality Improvement.

Congratulations to all the teams and other stakeholders who worked on these projects.

For further information contact

Cheryl Hamilton
Manager, Health Outcomes Team
Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Ph: 09 623 4600

Or visit www.healthinnovationawards.co.nz