Promoting good health never boring

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 479, 30 March 1993, Page 8

Promoting good health never boring

Life for Waimarino Public Health Nurse Mirita Goulding is anything but boring. The daughter of Jack and Eileen Gray of Raetihi, from a family of seven, Rita attended Raetihi School and later Ruapehu College before moving to Auckland to pursue a career in nursing. She completed a course in community nurse training and attainment at Auckland Hospital followed by three years comprehensive nursing at A.T.I., graduating with a

PROFILE diploma in nursing. A wide and varied career in both health and welfare fields followed; as a Public Health Nurse in Auckland, a nurse/teacher at a South Auckland secondary school and with the Department of Social Welfare's Care and Protection Team, just a few examples. She was also involved with the nursing education system in Auckland, providing support and

teaching for nursing students as well as student selection. In 1991 she returned to the Waimarino, to support her parents and as a welcome break from the pressures of frontline department work. Returning gave Rita the opportunity to further pursue her Maori genealogy - the family's roots on the Whanganui River from the settlement of Pipiriki.

One of her two teenage children lives in Raetihi, while the other attends Massey University. In 1992 she was transferred from Waiouru to Raetihi to take up the position of Waimarino Public Health Nurse. Rita Goulding's region incorporates the entire Waimarino area, from Pipiriki to Rangataua, and as far south as Kakatahi. She is responsible for five primary schools, Ruapehu College, and Maungarongo Marae's Kurakaupapa and TeKohanga Reo. EDUCATION The major focus of the Public Health Nursing Service is school health, and through schools, contact with the families and community. Community - based services include: health assessments and counselling; antenatal and postnatal parenting education; health education and promotion; well child care; school health from pre-school to tertiary level; immunisations; women's health including cervical screening; adolescent health including family planning; communicable disease prevention and follow-up; child abuse prevention; teacher support; vision and

hearing service and follow-up. Mrs Goulding liaises with regional health professionals, and a network of health professionals outside the Waimarino. FREE CLINICS A range of services are offered to Waimarino residents, including regular free health clinics throughout the region. A clinic is held at Maungarongo Marae in Ohakune on the last Wednesday of each month, with the Public Health Nurse, community health workers and midwives in attendance. A similar open clinic is available at Paraweka Marae, Pipiriki, every second Monday. The region is visited by a Wanganui paediatrician on the first Monday of each month, with clinics held at the Waimarino Health Centre. A second paediatrician visits Ohakune and Raetihi schools on referral by Mrs Goulding and teachers, on a regular basis. Mrs Goulding holds her own family counselling sessions each Monday evening from her home in Queen Street. The Waimarino Health Centre located in Raetihi houses the office of the Public Health Nurse. Rita Goulding can be contacted by ringing 3854 400.