Braemar Charitable Trust

23/04/2026

In the past few months, we've been thinking more about how we can continue to use our resources to respond to the changing health needs of our communities. We're fortunate that we can be nimble and think differently about how we approach healthcare to help those who need it most, at scale.

That's why we are BEYOND excited to welcome Caity Fiske to our small (but mighty) team as our Community Surgery Programme Lead. Caity's role is to oversee our Community Surgery Programme, which enables free surgery and health interventions for eligible patients, and to work with our partners to explore clinical pathways to enable sustainable system change.

Caity is a very experienced nurse and joins us from her recent role as Clinical Nurse Specialist - Infection Prevention Control at Braemar Hospital, working to safeguard patient wellbeing, promote best practice, and lead sustainable system‑level improvements. Her career has spanned both public and private, in clinical and non-clinical nursing roles in Auckland and Hamilton.

Caity's approach focuses on uplifting others through education, thoughtful communication and system improvements that enhance patient safety and equity - the perfect fit, we think!

We are so excited to welcome Caity and to benefit from her clinical experience and knowledge to help improve community health outcomes on a bigger scale.

22/04/2026

It was a pleasure to today welcome Sir John and Glenice, Lady Gallagher and Keith and Judi Gallagher back to Braemar to share recent goings on with the Trust and to thank them for their ongoing support.

It had been a few months since the Gallaghers last visited, when they made a significant donation to help Braemar Charitable Trust address several areas of unmet health need in the Waikato region. We were incredibly fortunate to receive multi-year funding of $100,000 a year for three years to pilot and scale innovative initiatives to address areas of significant need.

Today, over morning tea, we were able to share with them the impact their funding is having, and the lives made better because of it.

👏 Upskilling GPs to deliver skin lesion checks in their practices and communities (where a specialist referral may have been required).
👏 Enabling 61 specialist appointments at three recent Hauora Days in South Waikato.
👏 Free dental procedures and dentures to former refugees who recently settled in Hamilton.
👏 Assisting women and children being helped by women's refuges across the Waikato region to achieve a stable oral health baseline.

We are so grateful for the continued support of the Glenice and John Gallagher Foundation. Here's to working in partnership to improve health outcomes in our community!

Pictured from left, Sir John and Glenice, Lady Gallagher, Keith and Judi Gallagher, Braemar Hospital CEO Fiona Michel and Braemar Charitable Trust Manager Paula Baker MNZM.

14/04/2026

We've been going on a bit lately about the importance of building capacity and capability in the health sector. We are lucky enough to support and work alongside talented and passionate clinicians - both current and emerging - and what we've noticed is that by helping further the skills and knowledge of the profession, there can be a flow-on positive effect on patients in a public health setting.

One of the ways we support the current medical workforce is by providing learning opportunities for GPs, enabling them to do more, and sooner, in a primary health setting.

Here's a few real-world impacts we have seen:

⚡ We provide learning opportunities for GPs to undertake skin lesion training, including removals, to provide - where appropriate - in their own practice. This has been identified by our partners as an area of huge unmet need.

⚡As a result of this training, two GPs volunteered to run skin lesion clinics at a recent Hauora Day in South Waikato, enabling dozens of patients to be seen, checked, and either reassured all was fine, treated on the spot, or referred for further treatment.

⚡Thanks to an established partnership with a local kaupapa Māori health provider, we ran a haemorrhoid banding clinic to simultaneously treat patients while training a GP to undertake procedures in-clinic, rather than waiting for specialist assessment and treatment.

It's an innovative approach to meet multiple needs: enabling professional upskilling in the medical sector, and also helping reduce wait time and making much-needed healthcare access closer to those who need it.

07/04/2026

We believe in building capacity in the wider health sector, both now and in the future - in fact, it's one of our charitable pillars. We do this by providing funding for scholarships and ongoing professional development for those looking to contribute to our health sector.

So it's fantastic to hear from those we have helped in their clinical or professional roles (or future roles, as the case may be!) following a scholarship placement.

You might remember Huria Wharerau, last year's recipient of a Braemar Charitable Trust nursing scholarship, when we talked to her during her four -week placement in theatre at Braemar Hospital. Huria is now embarking on her third year of nursing studies at The University of Waikato and says she feels more equipped for her career than before.

"I had an amazing experience at Braemar with the most incredible nurses guiding me throughout. Making patients comfortable, especially before surgery, reminded me of the importance of whakawhanaungatanga even when there is limited time. Nurses play a huge part in people's lives making sure this experience goes as smoothly as possible and remembering these people want to get home to their whānau in the least amount of pain and with enough education and no complications."

And her advice for those following in her footsteps? "Give everything a go. Seeing multiple areas in the hospital was good for me because I found that I loved theatre nursing. It's so important to observe and take everything in as it can be overwhelming at times when you're learning so many new things!"

We can't wait to see what your nursing future holds Huria!

30/03/2026

Very excited to share the first in a series of videos that delves into the history of Braemar Hospital as it marks its 100th year in 2026. This first one looks at the origin of the hospital itself and its brave and pioneering founder Sister Frances Young.

24/03/2026

We're excited to share we've been named the New Zealand Trust of the Year for 2025 by the New Zealand Trustees Association.

The judges of the award noted our dedication to improving community health outcomes and enabling capability-building in the Waikato region's health sector. We're proud to share this award alongside the wonderful specialists and anaesthetists who donate their time and skills so readily, and to all the health and community support providers we have the privilege of working alongside every day.

The New Zealand Trustees Association was established in 1995 and provides its 1400+ members with education, resources and support on anything to do with trusteeships in Aotearoa New Zealand.

18/03/2026

We wanted to tread very carefully with this story from one of our recent Community Surgery Programme patients. Not because she didn't feel like she could share her story with us, but rather we knew it would show how devastating it can be when a seemingly straightforward health issue can result in a complex effect on someone's physical and mental wellbeing.

A healthcare worker for 12 years, Jane (not her real name), was no stranger to helping people, but when a workplace accident in 2020 left her unable to walk, help would prove very hard to come by.

After undergoing back surgery, Jane experienced chronic, severe pain and a series of further accidents that left her needing to battle with health and support providers to get the help she needed.

After years of constant 'nos,' Jane's mental wellbeing declined significantly. This only worsened following an accident at home, where she severely damaged her teeth during a fall.

She needed extensive dental work, which on top of the daily pain she was managing, was a significant burden. She started spending more time alone, staying home and avoiding people - too self-conscious to show anyone her teeth.

A chance email to Braemar Charitable Trust by a community support provider would start to turn the tide for Jane, and you can read all about what happened next for Jane here 👇

A healthcare worker for 12 years, Jane Smith* (not her real name) was no stranger to helping people, but when a workplace accident in 2020 left her unable to walk, help would prove hard to come by.Jan

17/03/2026

We've had the privilege of supporting two Hauora Days recently - one in Taumarunui, another in Tokoroa, and we're gearing up for one more in Te Kuiti next week.

If you didn't know, Hauora Days are fantastic community events in regional areas that focus on promoting health and wellbeing across a large number of people at once.

We've been involved in several Hauora Days, enabling patients to access specialist appointments or procedures they have been waiting for in the community in a way that suits them and their whānau.

On Saturday, Chair Vicky McLennan and Trust Manager Paula Baker headed to Tokoroa to lend a hand and experience the buzz for themselves. They were joined by general and colorectal surgeon Ralph van Dalen (pictured with Paula in-clinic), who volunteered his time and skill to see 12 patients throughout the day. In just a few hours, of these 12 patients, 10 were taken off of the public waiting list for specialist referral. Incredible!

This is innovative healthcare in action - and an area we are wholeheartedly committed to. We're constantly working on how we can enable initiatives to address areas of significant need, including patients on waiting lists for various procedures.

A very big thanks to Ralph and to the organisers and volunteers who are so crucial in making days like these happen.

12/03/2026

Last night we celebrated 100 years of Braemar Hospital by acknowledging its "pioneering and determined" founder, Nursing Sister Frances Young.

A portrait of Young was unveiled to acknowledge the extraordinary achievements of the woman who created the foundation Braemar exists upon today.

The portrait, a pastel rendition of one of the only known photographs of Young, is by Waikato-based artist Bernadette Ballantyne and now enjoys pride of place in Braemar Hospital's reception area.

Frances Young was remarkable. She was a single woman with two adopted sons who, in 1926, bought, set up and ran a hospital - no mean feat for the time. It is her commitment to excellence and quality patient care that still stands true today at Braemar Hospital, as well as extending to Braemar Charitable Trust's commitment to improving health outcomes in our community and enhancing healthcare equity and access.

A portrait of Braemar Hospital’s “pioneering and determined” founder has been unveiled in celebration of the Hospital’s 100th anniversary.

07/03/2026

Women make up a significant majority of the healthcare workforce in Aotearoa. Globally, there is an estimated 70% of healthcare roles filled by women, and the vast majority of those are patient-facing.

This we're celebrating the women we are blessed to work alongside every single day. We count our lucky stars to be surrounded by capable, outstanding women who care deeply about improving health outcomes in our communities.

To all the nurses, healthcare assistants, specialists, community health and social support providers, administrators, students, interns, funders, donors, partners and supporters we work with, we see you - and most importantly - thank you for what you do to make the lives of our communities better.

04/03/2026

One of our charitable pillars, and perhaps what we are most well-known for, is facilitating community surgery and health interventions to improve health outcomes in our community.

We do this primarily through our Community Surgery Programme, which enables life-changing procedures for people who have been declined by the public system and have no medical insurance, ACC cover or the financial means to pay privately.

But we also enable patients (particularly those living in remote areas) to access specialist care they may be waiting for in a way that suits them, in their communities, helping reduce the barriers they may face in getting to a main centre for an appointment or procedure.

By supporting specialists to hold clinics in the regions, they can provide timely assessments, advice and management plans that can support ongoing care in the community, helping to reduce health inequities and improve overall outcomes.

And, the specialists we have worked with love heading to the regions to help! They believe wholeheartedly in a patient and whānau-centred approach and always return full of praise for the local healthcare providers and the passion they have for their communities and health outcomes.

23/02/2026

Ever wondered what happens at a Hauora Day? Lucky you, we're about to take you behind the scenes.

Hauora Days are community days, usually in regional or rural areas, that focus on promoting health and wellbeing across many people at once. At these events, you'll find free health checks including (but not limited to) oral health, hearing, immunisations, diabetes and heart checks, skin lesion checks, social support and much more. Adding to the vibes are fun family activities, prizes, and kai - lots of kai.

Braemar Charitable Trust has long been involved in Hauora Days, enabling patients to access specialist care or procedures they've been waiting for in their community.

General and colorectal surgeon Jasen Ly and gastroenterologist Jerry Chin are heading to Taumarunui's Hauora Day - check out why they're excited to head along and what they'll be doing there 👇

Do you know what happens at a Hauora Day? If you don’t, you’ve come to the right place.Hauora Days are community events, typically in regional or rural areas, that focus on promoting health and wellbe