Above: Marie Hayward with daughter Anna and colleagues Lydia Snell (far left) and CH4K Clinical Nurse Coordinator and Gateway Co-ordinator Shelley McIntosh (right).
Farewell for child advocate
This month Whakatāne Hospital and
colleagues past and present from the wider
Eastern Bay health and support networks
gathered to farewell Paediatric Social Worker
Marie Hayward.
Marie has worked at the hospital for 20 years. She came from
what was known then as Child, Youth and Family (CYF) to join
the Family Health team, one of three pilot programmes set up
around the country in the late 90s to improve children's access to
healthcare.
For Marie this was her second career. Her first; a Journalist for the
NZ Herald, and later a Sub-Editor for the Beacon - skills that later
came in handy for her colleagues when it came to proofreading
their reports.
On behalf of the hospital’s paediatricians John said they really
appreciated her multidisciplinary work approach and thanked her
for her legacy.
Paediatric Liaison Nurse Lydia Snell who’s worked closely with
Marie in the Family Health team for the past 10 years presented
Marie with a pounamu necklace from staff.
“I’ve collected for a lot of people over the years the pūtea for your
collection speaks about her mana in the hospital.”
While Marie is retiring from the DHB she plans to keep on being
an agent for social change.
For the first decade, Marie worked in the two-person Family Health
team, with Registered Nurse Shelley McIntosh. “I can’t bear to think of some of the circumstances some kids are
living in, it’s just not right.
Speaking at her farewell, Shelley described Marie as a godsend.
“She holds a wealth of experience in children’s health; she’s been
there and done that.” “All kids deserve to have a place to call home and health plays a
part in that.”
She said Marie had done amazing work with families over the
years.
“We’ve appreciated her compassion and kindness. She’s been a
rock to so many colleagues
“Marie is one of those people who strives to connect with people.”
Paediatrician John Malcom spoke of Marie’s community
connections and recalled many examples where Marie had paved
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the way with families and whānau for a better outcome for their
children and tamariki. Referring to her organisational skills, he
spoke about Marie’s model case notes. “On an A4 page you
captured all the issues that we were afraid to ask but needed to
know.”
Speaking at her farewell Marie said she was grateful to the
families who allowed her to become part of their lives. She
recalled one of her last cases, on the Maternity ward, organising
some home help for a new mum.
“I walked in the room and here was the dad with this gorgeous
new baby and the mum, they were smitten. The love that was
in that room. That’s what it’s all about – loving our kids, all kids
deserve that.”