Wendy O’Connell RN.

I was raised in the small rural community of Waerenga -a -Hika in Gisborne, I completed my nursing training at Cook Hospital and then set off on a very extended  O.E. (12 yrs), working in Australia, Zimbabwe and  Britain. Returning to New Zealand in 1990 I spent 10 years working as an on-site rural Public Health Nurse providing a generic service to a large scattered rural community in the Gisborne area.

Then moved to the Bay of Plenty to take up a new position in Whakatane with Ngati Awa Social and Health Services (NASH) as an Asthma and Respiratory Nurse Educator, over the six years I was employed there I successfully established a nurse led community respiratory service. I then moved on to establish a similar service here in Opotiki. Joining the Whanau  Ora team  has been an exciting venture for me,  I bring a depth of community based nursing  knowledge  and skills to the role of Neehi  Whanau Ora  and  I particularly enjoy working in the community supporting whanau and others to improve their health social and educational outcomes, empowering  them to take control of their lives and future.