Bridget Richards

Chairperson

I am currently working with Oceania Healthcare – Primary Care as a nurse practitioner providing primary healthcare services to residents of both the Care Suites and Retirement Village in Waikato. This current role is in a nurse led primary health care model.

I have worked across several sectors in Waikato since moving from the UK in 2007 including DHB, Home care and supports and GP practice.

I have previously been Secretary and Chair of the section and now College of Gerontology. I am very keen that nurses working within the care of older adults are recognized for the multitude and complexity of skills and knowledge that they have and that this is recognized appropriately.

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Kim Brooks

Committee member

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Alice Street

Committee member

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Aloha Sison

Treasurer

Aloha Sison is a Clinical Nurse specialist Gerontology working under the Nurse-led services of Waikato DHB. Her role as a CNS Gerontology is to mentor and work in partnership with health care staff  looking after complex and high needs residents in the aged-related residential care.

She is originally from the Philippines and have been a registered nurse for the last 10 years. Since arriving in New Zealand in 2014, she has been working with older adults in age-related residential care and acute orthopedics ward. She has worked in various clinical setting including hemodialysis, medical-surgical wards & intensive care units and have held quality improvement and clinical leadership role. Currently, she is completing her Masters of Nursing as part of the Nurse Practitioner pathway.

As the New Zealand population ages, people are living longer with chronic conditions and complexities. "Across all the different clinical areas I have worked in, I found a real passion for gerontology nursing. It is a specialty practice that requires a sound knowledge and skills in gerontology, an appreciation for life’s unique experience and the wisdom to understand that a life with quality is what matters."

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Christy Reedy

Committee Member

Kia ora! I am Australian having moved over in 2020 with some of my family. I love living and working in Christchurch although New Zealand is like a second home for me having Whanau in the North Island.

You will find me at Nurse Maude Care home in Merivale. We are a hospital level facility caring for Aged Residential Adults, End of Life patients and spinal patient’s pre and post-surgery. To say I am very privilege to work in such an environment is an understatement!

I have always had a passion for health and wellbeing. Prior to nursing I worked within the fitness industry over a 15 year period which in the end found me working and creating programs for older adults and the importance of keeping them moving for life. 

Aging is a part of life which we have little or no control over. I hope through by nursing skills and experiences I can have a positive impact on how care is delivered within the aging environment.

Being passionate and proud of the role Enrolled Nurses play within the Nursing environment I feel being a part of the committee will allow me to be part of a collective team while offering the perspective and voice for Enrolled Nurses working within the industry. It is also exciting to see the changes coming through allowing Enrolled Nurses to work at the top of their scope and full potential.

Compassion and kindness goes along way - Christy

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Regan Gilchrist

Secretary/Membership/Newsletter

Kia ora! My name is Regan Gilchrist and I am passionate about caring for older people, aged care, as well as promoting and advocating for the care of our most vulnerable.

I have worked in aged residential care my entire nursing career and believe that caring for older people is incredibly rewarding, and am passionate about promoting gerontology as a nursing speciality. I am currently employed as a Clinical Manager at a 124 bed aged care facility in Dunedin, where I am responsible for overall clinical operations as well as education, quality, infection control and professional workforce development. I am a Registered Nurse, and originally from Dunedin. I spent many years working as a HCA in aged care prior to deciding on Nursing, and have always had the complete admiration and respect of this sector. It comes as no surprise I returned to ARC following registration!

My previous roles in aged care have included Registered Nursing positions as well as those in clinical and facility management. I am also a passionate educator, and take any chance to promote ARC as a career pathway for new nurses coming through. I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Sciences, endorsed in Nursing, and currently undertaking my Masters thesis.

ARC, and our older people, require constant advocacy to ensure that care provided is not only in line with best practice, but meets the needs of our population. I am incredibly honored to be nominated into the Committee, as it provides this key voice and platform of advocacy.

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Louise Fowler

Committee Member

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Sarah McIntosh

Committee member

Ko Tongariro te Maunga

Ko Waikato te awa

Ko Te Arawa te waka

Ko Ngāti Tūwharetoa te iwi

Ko Ngāti tahu Ngāti whaoa te hapu

Ko Sarah McIntosh toku ingoa

Ko Māori Nēhi ahau

I am currently working in Rotorua Hospital as a clinical Nurse Specialist for Older Persons, Rehabilitation and Stroke services. I graduated with my Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2015 and was the first person in my whanau to have completed any tertiary level study.

I love working with our kaumatua as it is such a privilege to enable older persons to age well within their communities. Aging is a privilege that not all get to experience, and I value the relationships I am lucky to be able to develop as a Māori Nurse. I am currently on the Nurse Practitioner pathway as providing equitable access to health services that is able to understand the needs of my community is important to me.

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Marg Bigsby

Professional Nursing Advisor, NZNO

My name is Marg Bigsby and I am a Professional Nursing Advisor (PNA) for NZNO, based in Christchurch. I have the pleasure of supporting the College of Gerontology Nursing with your work following my predecessor, Marg Cain’s, recent appointment as NZNO Competency Advisor.

My clinical background prior to working for NZNO has been in Maternal and Child Health roles (working first as a midwife and then for a well child provider). As a PNA I have gotten to know more about other clinical areas through supporting individual members with professional issues, facilitating professional forums for members from all areas, and through contributing to submissions on issues relating to different sectors. I have also joined the NZNO Aged care sector group, which comprises NZNO industrial and professional staff, and feel confident that this will heighten my understanding of professional issues for nurses in the sector.